Whole Lot More

Chapter Twenty Three

Chapter Twenty Three

"Peyton is my daughter..."

Brynne's eyes bulged and she nearly choked on her tongue, "Wh–what?"

"I have a daughter," he told her, finally turning to meet her eyes, "She's about five and a half years old. Her and her mother still live in Jersey, and besides my family, her family and you, no one knows about her. Not Junior or Josh or anyone. I got Deana pregnant right before we graduated; she wanted to go to college and I wanted to race. We mutually separated, and I still talk to them daily and go see them anytime my schedule permits me to get away."

Brynne had averted her eyes, staring at a place on the wall with a deep look of concentration. He sat there for a few minutes waiting for her to say something; anything, really. But still, she just stared.

"Brynne? Baby, please say something. I never meant to keep this from you, but no one knows. I know I can trust you, but it's hard for me to open this part of my life up to anyone."

"I – I think I need to go for a walk." She quickly scrambled up, and grabbed clothes from her drawer. After throwing them on, she heaved a deep breath and walked out of the bedroom. He could hear her stop and hook Lucky's leash on him, knowing that the two of them were going to get a little fresh air.

"Shit," he cursed, flopping back on the bed with a sigh, "I just fucked that one up." Knowing he just needed to give her time to let it all settle in her mind, and she'd be back. That was kind of a lot to push on her all at once.

If only she knew everything else, he though, his mind slipping to Kaleen and how she hadn't called him since he left. It'd been pure genius on his part to give her and her sister money to go away to a spa for a couple of days to ease his conscious for upsetting her.

As much as she complicated his life with her being pregnant and just generally being there, he couldn't wish anything bad to happen to the baby.

But Kaleen would be occupied for a few days, and she'd stay off his back while he was spending time with Brynne.

With a sigh, he grabbed his phone, knowing he owed Deana a call back. He hadn't talked to her since the weekend and that wasn't typical for them. He knew – more than likely – Peyton was driving her nuts wanting to talk to him.

"Hello?"

"Hey, De."

"Thank you, God! Your daughter has been driving me absolutely up the wall for two days. 'Mommy, I wanna talk to Daddy.' 'Mommy, when is Daddy going to call?' 'Mommy, I wanna see Daddy.' See what a monster you created?"

"Help created, De. Remember, she's part of you, too."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... whatever. But Mr. Cup Driver, who answered your phone earlier? Huh? A woman's never answered your phone before."

"Oh, that was Brynne..."

"The girl you were talking about a few months ago?" Deana asked, "She was cute. And you two looked cute together in Dega. And before you ask, yes I saw her in Victory Lane with you... everyone did. But I just didn't say anything before."

"Yeah," he smiled, "That's her."

"You guys getting serious?"

"I guess you could say we are; don't tell my parents, but that's where I am now – in Boston, spending some time with her before I head to Jersey for the rest of the week."

"Did you ever think about asking her to come with you? I mean, we would all love to meet her; I'm sure Peyton and your parents would, too."

"I'd been thinking about it, but I might have just screwed it all up..."

Deana sighed, "Martin Lee Truex, Jr. what the hell did you do this time?"

"Why do you always assume I did something wrong?"

"Don't try and pull that line with someone whose known you since you were in diapers. Besides, it's always the men who screw it up."

"If you say so, De..."

"I do. Now, tell me what you did..."

"Fine... I just now told her about you and Peyton. I've known her for over six months and I kept the fact that I had a daughter from her the entire time. I told her, and she walked out of the apartment and went for a walk."

"Well Martin, think about it from her position... you just spring on her the fact that you've got an ex-girlfriend and daughter out there who you talk to all the time; it's a lot to take in at once, just give her some time to absorb it all and I'm sure she'll come around."

"I know, you're right... wanna let me talk to the little rugrat?"

"I would, but she's finally napping... how about I have her call you later before she goes to bed?"

"Okay, I'll be sure to answer this time."

"I' going to go though, and enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts. Remember though, give her time and ask her to come here with you. I'd love to meet her."

"I know you two would get along like the best of friends. But I think she just came back..."

"I'll talk to you later, Martin."

He hung up the phone and closed his eyes, listening as she unhooked Lucky, hung his leash back up and gave him a treat before her quiet footfalls started making their way back towards the bedroom.

The door opened and closed again and he felt the bed ease down as she laid down beside him. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I totally overreacted and it took me a little bit of time away from the situation to realize that."

"Don't apologize," he said quietly, tilting his head to the side so they were face-to-face, "It was a lot for me to just up and spring on you like it was nothing..."

"Everyone has secrets Martin, and everyone is entitled to have secrets. Where would the fun and mystery of a new relationship be if we knew everything about each other from the beginning? Where would the spontaneity be? There wouldn't be any and that'd be boring."

"I guess you're right. Still, I shouldn't have kept it from you for so long. I haven't told anyone else, because I don't trust them enough to tell them, but you I trust... I guess I've been keeping it from people for selfish reasons. I'm not ashamed of it, definitely not. Peyton is the apple of my eye and Deana's been amazing with her and with my inability to be a real father to Peyton. I loved Deana, and I knew if there was one woman in this world who could handle raising a daughter on her own, it was her. I'll always love her for raising my little girl, but it's not the same now as it used to be. But, I worry about the media. If they found out about Peyton, they wouldn't rest until they found out everything abut Peyton and Deana. It'd be tossed out there that Peyton is illegitimate, and as much as we definitely hadn't been planning the pregnancy, there was nothing illegitimate about her. As soon as I found out, I was actually excited; it definitely wasn't the direction that I saw my life going in, but Deana and I, we dealt with it to the best of our ability. I owe Deana more than letting her and our daughter get caught up in a media frenzy like that."

"I understand Martin, and I'd be the same way if I were in your shoes. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I'll take Peyton's existence to the grave with me."

He kissed her forehead and smiled, "I knew I could trust you with this, baby. Over everyone else, I knew I could trust you."

Brynne smiled slightly and patted down his hair affectionately. "So, do you happen to have any pictures of Miss Peyton?"

"Do I have pictures?" he scoffed, "What kind of father would I be if I didn't?" Shifting enough to pull his wallet out of his back pocket, he opened and pulled some pictures from a spot hidden from general viewing. "This is her and Deana at Christmas."

She took the picture from his hand and smiled. The little girl in the picture's jet black hair matched her father, and was the stark opposite of her mother's long, golden tresses. The eyes that searched her reminded her so much of Martin's; endless pits of brown. The general shape of Peyton's face and her smile matched her mother's, though.

"They're beautiful, both of them."

Like the proud father he was, he accepted the picture back and handed her another one; one that brought a smile to her face as she looked at it. "That's me and her the last time I was down there."

Martin and Peyton grinned at the camera, as Martin held her up in the air. He remembered that day like it was yesterday; thrived on the memory until he could see her again and create more.

They'd gotten snow the night before; Peyton had been so excited for snow, so much so that she'd woken him up at seven that morning and dragged him outside to play in the snow.

Long about two that afternoon, Deana had surfaced with a camera to take a picture of the award-winning snowman they'd spent the better part of five hours perfecting.

That picture had been the outcome. The two of them standing beside their snowman, proudly.

Brynne handed the picture back to him with a smile, loving the new side of him she'd uncovered. A side she would have never expected, to be completely honest. "Do you have anymore?" she asked quietly.

"I'll do you one better..."

"Huh?" she questioned.

"Come home with me."

"What?"

"I want you to come back to Jersey with me when I leave here. Meet my family, Peyton and Deana... Deana really wants to meet you, she said so when I talked to her earlier..."

"I don't know, Martin..."

"No, it'll be perfect! After I leave Jersey, we're back in Charlotte for two weeks of racing. And I want you to come home with me. To both homes – Jersey and Charlotte. It'll be even better because I know Junior was talking about inviting Julie up to Charlotte for the races, too."

"I still don't know... it's a long time to be away from the bar and I can't leave Lucky for that long..."

"Bring Lucky with you! And you know Tara is more than qualified to handle it, and if she has any problems, she'll call you. Even she'll say that. Come on baby, please? I really want you to be with me."

She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to be able to say no to him. "How about I think about it, talk to Tara and then get back to ya?"

That was a yes, he knew. "That's fine with me." He glanced up at the clock and couldn't believe it had gotten so late. "But we have to hurry up, or we're going to be late for the game!"

"Are you sure you even want to go anymore?"

"Yes! C'mon, let's go!"

She laughed, "And to think, earlier you were horrified at the idea of even going there in the first place..."

*~*