Chapter Three
Carbon
PEYTON AND HER kids are the best things in my life.
I used to always believe it was the club and everyone I surrounded myself with there.
That I was serving a purpose as stepping into the role my dad once held before he was taken out by rivals when I was sixteen years old.
Everything I did was for the club and the men and ol’ ladies in it.
I lived, breathed, and worked for the Dirty Slayers MC.
That’s how I was raised and everything I did was taught to me by my dad.
Yeah, I knew I wanted to have a family of my own when the time was right.
Just like I knew the only person that was going to be with was Peyton.
One way or another I wanted to be with her and the only woman to carry my children would be the woman I’ve loved for so long.
Now, I’m finding everything I do is for her and the kids she already has.
Kids who aren’t mine by blood but are mine in every other sense.
For an entire weekend, I did nothing but spend time with my new family.
I took the days off from the bar and Brick stepped up as the manager for me.
Rooster made sure no one bothered me with calls about nonsense and called him instead.
Everyone can see how serious I am about Peyton and know how pissed I’ve been that I couldn’t see her.
Over that week, I was only able to call her for a few minutes here and there or send her a message.
She didn’t want to bother me and didn’t reach out to me first during that time.
I know she was busy as hell herself and any time she was at home was spent with Cedric and Caydence.
Today, we’re going to spend some time with her family.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her parents and sister.
Not since we were in school and had some event and they showed up.
I tried not to interfere in her family time back then so I didn’t get to spend a ton of time with her family, but now it’s different and I plan on getting to know them better.
Especially because I know how close Peyton is with her family. Especially her dad and sister.
“Tutor, are you ready to head out yet?” I ask, walking into the bedroom to find her sitting in the middle of her bed with all sorts of clothes spread out around her and tears sliding down her face. “Hey, what’s goin’ on? Why are you cryin’?”
“Nothing fits, Matt. Everything I have is way too small now,” she says, her voice breaking as more tears spill over her lashes and land on everything surrounding her.
“It’s okay, Baby. There has to be somethin’ here you can wear.
Your parents and sister aren’t gonna give a fuck what you’re wearin’ today.
I don’t really care either. If your clothes are too tight, we’ll go shoppin’ tomorrow and get you some new ones.
Do you have a dress you could wear?” I ask her, looking around at everything laying on her bed and spilling down to the floor.
“I think I have a dress in the closet somewhere,” she answers, as I leave where I’m standing by the bed and head to the closet.
Going through what’s left of the clothing hanging up inside, I find a few different dresses. One of them is long and goes almost to the floor. The material is stretchy and I know it will cover her body and stretch over her stomach. Then a new question hits my mind.
“Tutor, do your parents and sister know you’re pregnant?” I ask from the closet as I grab the dress and turn to face Peyton.
“They know. I don’t keep secrets from my family. Barb and Jennifer were the first two to find out,” she says, looking away from me and I know it’s because she feels horrible it took so long for me to find out. “Did you find something?”
“Yeah.”
Walking over, I hand her the black dress and remain standing at the end of the bed.
Peyton just looks up at me with the dress in her hands and doesn’t say anything for a few minutes.
There’s no way in hell I’m about to leave this room when I know she’s about to be mainly naked.
I haven’t gotten a chance to see all the changes to her body since getting pregnant with my baby and it’s something I’ve been needing to witness.
“Are you gonna leave? Or turn around?” she questions me, her voice smaller than normal.
“Not happenin’, Peyton. Your body is changin’ from the pregnancy and I have yet to see any of it. Let me see, Peyton. Please?” I ask her, letting myself show her how much I need this as I remain standing at the very end of the bed.
After taking a deep breath, Peyton gets off her bed and stands on the floor in front of me.
I turn to face her and don’t let my attention wander to anything else as she slips her robe off and lays it on the end of the bed.
She’s wearing a white bra and panty set that matches and reveals more than it covers.
Nothing is left to the imagination as I let my eyes travel down her body and back up again as slow as I possibly can.
“Fuck, Peyton. You’re so fuckin’ sexy,” I tell her honestly as my eyes go to her stomach and I don’t move them.
Stepping forward, I place my hands on her body and just hold them there. After a minute of my hands resting on her stomach, I feel something beneath my palms. Darting my eyes back up to Peyton’s face, I take in her soft smile.
“Is that?” I begin before stopping as I feel it again.
“Yeah, Matt. That’s our baby,” she says, her voice almost a whisper as I kneel down in front of her and press a kiss against her stomach.
“Hey, Little One. This is your Daddy. I don’t know if you can hear me, but I love you more than you know already.
I can’t wait to meet you and watch you grow and learn every single day,” I say, keeping my mouth close to Peyton’s stomach as I watch her stomach while moving my hands along her soft skin.
Looking up again, I see more tears falling from Peyton’s eyes.
I quickly get off my knees and pull her into my arms. This whole pregnancy thing is kind of weird.
I mean, she’s growing a human inside her and it’s causing her to cry at the simplest gestures.
She’s been craving ice cream and fruit, once in a while a burger in the middle of the night I’ve gone out to get her, and her entire body is changing as I step back again and take in every single detail of her body once again.
“Get dressed while I go check on the kids. If you need me, just call out and I’ll be right back in,” I tell her, placing a kiss on her forehead before pulling myself away from her and turning to walk away before I take her to bed.
Walking into the living room, I find Cedric and Caydence sitting on the floor watching the movie I put on for them while Peyton was in the shower to get ready for the day.
Cedric barely glances in my direction while Caydence stands up and toddles over to me.
She just turned two years old and Cedric is four, almost five.
Sitting on the couch, I wait for Peyton’s daughter to make up her mind about me.
She’s been working on getting closer and closer to me a little throughout each day.
I’m taking her cues and waiting for her to make her mind up one way or the other if she trusts me.
It seems like right now is the time she takes that final step.
Caydence climbs up in my lap with my help and rests back against my chest. I watch as she puts her thumb in her mouth and grabs part of my tee-shirt with the other hand.
Reaching to the side of us, I grab her blankie and cover her little body up.
Caydence still doesn’t let go of my shirt and I don’t mind.
It only takes Cedric a few minutes to join us on the couch as he sits right next to me.
I don’t speak or move as the kids finally show their trust in me.
This is a huge moment and I won’t take a second of it for granted.
I’m still new to the kids and Peyton has told me they’re shy.
If I’ve won them over this soon, I know I must be doing something right.
***
Sitting around the table in the kitchen, I take in everyone surrounding me.
Peyton sits directly on my right with Cedric on my left and Caydence in a highchair next to Peyton.
Her sister, Jennifer, and her husband, Kent, sit across from us.
Brent, Jennifer and Kent’s son, sits across from Cedric.
Peyton’s parents each sit at the end of the table.
We’ve had nonstop laughter as stories are shared about Peyton growing up.
Now, I can see their attention turning to me.
“So, Matt, what is it you do these days?” Jennifer asks me, a smile on her face as she looks at me with innocent eyes.
“I’m the manager of Down n’ Dirty,” I answer them honestly, not ashamed of my job.
“Plus I’m the Vice President of the Dirty Slayers MC.
I’ve been a member since I graduated high school.
When I’m needed in other jobs, I fill in no matter what.
The only place I don’t work is Slayer’s Pit.
It’s the strip club the MC owns. I used to fill in there when Tease needed me, but I refuse to step foot in the buildin’ knowin’ Peyton wouldn’t like me in there. ”
“Really?” she asks me, turning and leaving her fork hanging mid-air in shock. “You won’t work there because of me?”
“I’m not ever gonna put myself in a position where you have to question my loyalty. When it comes to you and the kids, I’m all in and this is where I want to be,” I tell her, forgetting about everyone else around us.
“Thank you, Matt. That means a lot to me,” she responds, leaning in for a brief kiss.
“Matt, I know Peyton tutored you in school. I could never figure out why you needed her help. You weren’t the top student in your class, but you were in the top five.
I paid attention to all of that. Why did you need help with the grades you got?
” Jennifer pushes and I guess it’s time for me to be honest with my girl.
“I’ve had a crush on Peyton for as long as I can remember.
The first day of her freshman year probably.
She stood out because she never cared about fittin’ in with everyone else and only wanted to be true to herself.
She always had a book in her hands and was readin’ every second class wasn’t in session.
The only way I could get close to her was to get her as my tutor.
So, I pretended I needed the extra help so I could spend time with her every week,” I tell everyone in the room with us but never take my eyes off Peyton where she remains sitting speechless.
“That’s really sweet, Matt. Did you know about this plan, Peyton?” Mrs. Mills asks her daughter.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t really pay attention to rankings unless it was where I was among my own class,” she says, her voice small as her neck and face turn a lovely shade of pink.
Yeah, my girl blushes at times and I find it adorable and sexy depending on the situation.
“I did whatever it took for me to spend time with her. Even if I knew I wouldn’t say anythin’ about my crush.
Your daughter has always been way too good for me.
Now, I’m a selfish man and Peyton has agreed to be mine.
I’m not lettin’ her go for any reason,” I state, my voice loud and full of intention as I turn to face her dad.
Mr. Mills smiles at me and I can see the approval in his eyes as he nods his head once in response to my declaration.
I’ve never wanted anyone’s approval so bad in my life.
Today, I want the approval of every single person around this table because they have the power to make or break my relationship with Peyton and the kids.
I have no problem spending time with them because they’re great people either.
If Peyton’s family treated her like shit, this would be going a lot differently today.
No one will disrespect my woman or kids.
All I’ve seen today is nothing but love and jokes that clearly show affection between family members.
We finish our meal and spend a little more time with her family before heading back to Peyton’s house.
I want her and the kids in my space, but refuse to push it before she’s ready.
I promised her this relationship would move at her pace and I won’t go back on my word to her.
That’s not who I am as a man. My word means everything to me and without it, I’m nothing.
By the time we get back to the house, the kids are practically asleep after a day filled with family and running around with Brent.
Peyton and I put them to bed together after washing them quickly and changing them into their pajamas.
Once they’re asleep, we head out to the couch and sit watching a movie together.
It doesn’t take long for Peyton to fall asleep in my arms and I don’t move because this is exactly where I want her to be.
My girl is exhausted and doing way more than she should.
If I could talk her into quitting her job, or even cutting back her hours, I would in a heartbeat.
That’s not something she’ll accept though.
Peyton knows when she has to cut back and put herself and our baby first. For now, I’ll follow her lead and take our relationship day by day.