Page 41 of Broken Chains

By mid-afternoon the place had settled down and a sense of normalcy resumed. Doc stopped by before bedtime to check on Eve again and was thrilled with her recovery.

Peyton returned to work the next day, after a little reassurance that everything was fine. I took another day off just to be sure, not wanting to send Eve back to daycare just yet. But after a few hours of her feeling better and acting like her normal adorable self, I packed her up and headed into Collier. Mostly I just had an obsessive need to see Peyton. I hoped it would be okay.

I walked into Kate’s Diner feeling a little out of place. A couple of the men stopped and looked at me. It was obvious that strangers didn’t come through here often.

“Just take a seat anywhere, sugar. I’ll be over to take your order in a bit,” a curvy blonde said with a smile.

I nodded my thanks and headed for a booth, carrying Eve in her car seat carrier.

“We’ve got a sling for that if you’d like,” another woman said. She grabbed some sort of contraption and set it up at the end of the table, then showed me how to sit Eve down in it.

“Thanks,” I said noticing the name on her shirt read Kate and I wondered if she was Peyton’s friend who owned the diner.

“Not a problem. What are you having to drink?” the woman asked as she looked down at Eve, then cooed. “Evie. What are you doing here, sweetheart? Are you feeling better?” the woman asked my baby as if she expected an answer. She looked back up at me. “Who are you and what are you doing with Eve?”

I looked around, hoping Peyton would pop in with an assist. A man from the bar rose and started heading my way. I didn’t want trouble or to make a scene. Two others got up and followed him.

“Uh, I’m Oliver. She’s my daughter,” I said.

I watched the man now standing behind Kate. He was big and strong, but I was certain I could take him. I couldn’t see the other two yet but would just have to focus on one at a time if it came down to it. I’d landed in worse situations in the past. My fists balled in my lap in preparation.

Kate looked over at me and grinned. “Oliver. It’s about time you came around. Peyton’s working in the back.” She turned and ran into the man behind her. Taking a step back, her hands flew to her hips and I saw her shake her head. She turned back to me. “Oliver, this is my mate, Wyatt. Wyatt, this is, um, Peyton’s friend, Oliver Smith.”

“Hey, nice to meet you. Any friend of Peyton’s is more than welcome around here.”

Someone laughed behind him. “Would you relax. He’s got my personal protection around here,” Thomas said, then raised his voice a little louder for all to hear. “So, if I hear of anyone giving him shit, they’re going to have to answer to me.”

“My hearing’s fine, you know,” Wyatt teased as he took the seat across from me and Thomas slid into the booth next to him.

“Wasn’t for you, asshole,” Thomas said without malice.

The third man slid into the seat next to me. Zachary Collier, Peyton’s father. I had never met him, but I knew exactly who he was.

“Hello, sir,” I said, offering him my hand. “I’m Oliver Smith.”

“Zach,” he said, returning my handshake. “Peyton’s mother and I have been waiting for her to bring you around. Any reason she hasn’t already done so?”

My mouth dropped open and then closed. I didn’t know how to respond.

Thomas laughed. “Don’t grill him too hard, yet. He hasn’t actually claimed her.”

“I haven’t touched her,” I defended.

“Yeah, why is that exactly?” Thomas asked.

I gave him a confused look. Was he crazy? I snorted. “Trust me. I have a daughter and I sure as hell wouldn’t want her mated to a guy like me.”

This time Thomas looked at me like I had two heads.

Zach put up his hand to stop his son when he started to speak again. “Peyton told her mother that you are her one true mate. Is that true?”

I rubbed my hands across my face in frustration. I couldn’t believe she had told her family that. “Look, Peyton’s used that term a few times. I don’t even know what the hell that means,” I said honestly.

“How long have you two known each other?” Wyatt asked.

I shrugged. “Three or four months I guess,” I said, trying to think back. It felt like a lifetime.

Wyatt snorted. “No way is she your true mate then. Your wolf would be going insane by now.”

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