Meeting Tanner's Family

TANNER*

"Kaysen, please stop. It's not what you think. Kaysen! Please hear me out," I cried as I ran after Kaysen.

Kaysen isn't supposed to be carrying Cora or overexerting herself, but at this moment, I think she's forgotten. I caught up with her and hugged her and Cora to me tightly.

"Please stop, or you will hurt yourself and our babies," I whispered into Kaysen's ear.

Kaysen had tears running down her face.

"You had another woman in there, and she had her hands all over you. What am I supposed to think, Tanner?" Kaysen screamed.

I turned my head to see Mae walking towards us.

"Hey, I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'm engaged and leaving for Japan. I came by to apologize to Tanner before I left. See that man in that car right there; that's my fiance," Mae said as she pointed to an SUV a few feet away. Kaysen turned her head to see what Mae was talking about and nodded.

"I'm sorry if I caused any problems; I was unaware of the fact that Tanner had a girlfriend. I've got to go; I wish you both the best," Mae said as she walked off, got in the car, and she and her fiance left.

"Let me have Cora please before you harm yourself," I said, and Kaysen handed Cora over to me.

***

"I'm sorry, Tanner. I overreacted, I saw you with her, and it just about killed me," Kaysen said as she sat down on my couch.

"I would never cheat on you, Kaysen. Never you are the only woman I want. I need you like I need the blood pumping through my veins. That was Mae, my ex, that I broke up with six months ago that I told you about," I said as I handed Kaysen bottled water and gave Cora a juice pack.

"Mommy, are you ok?" Cora asked Kaysen as she hugged Kaysen from the side.

"Yes, mommy is ok. I'm sorry mommy upset you. Are you excited about playing with Adelaide this evening?" Kaysen asked Cora as she ran her fingers through Cora's curly hair.

"Yes! Can we go soon?!" Cora asked in excitement.

"Yes, baby, just let mommy rest for a few minutes," Kaysen said as she fished through Cora's backpack.

"Tanner, you don't happen to have any ginger of some sort or some saltine crackers around here, do you? I forgot my anti-nausea medication at the house," Kaysen asked me as she took a sip of her water.

"I have some saltine crackers. I can run to Walgreens real fast and get you some ginger ale. It's just right around the corner. It wouldn't take me long," I asked as I got up and made my way to the kitchen.

"No, we can get some on the way to Blaze's house. Saltine crackers should do for now," Kaysen said.

KAYSEN*

When I walked in and saw Tanner with Mae, my heart shattered into a million pieces, I couldn't breathe. I wanted to die my heart ached so bad.

My first instinct was to grab Cora and run. Get away as fast as I possibly could. For a moment, I had forgotten about the babies growing in my belly.

When Tanner threw his arms around Cora and me and had told me to stop so I wouldn't cause harm to myself or the babies, I was brought back to reality. Tingles flowed through me at the skin-to-skin contact, and I couldn't understand why my body was betraying me.

How could I possibly still need Tanner after seeing him with someone else?

I was relieved when Mae had walked up and explained everything because I was about to go on a rampage.

Then I felt ashamed for running out like I had and not giving Tanned a chance to explain. I don't think anyone else would have reacted any differently, though. My pregnancy hormones were driving me nuts; I couldn't think straight.

Everything between Tanner and I has happened so quickly that it's hard to keep up. I love Tanner, though, as crazy as that might sound, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him.

Kaysen Earlier This Morning

My mom had cornered me this morning after I had spent thirty minutes in the bathroom dry heaving. I had turned on the shower because that's what I was going to do in the first place before nausea had kicked in, but the sound of the shower hadn't completely masked the sound.

My mom had quirked her brow and looked down at my flat belly. I could see the wheels turning in her brain. In the end, she hadn't asked me if I was pregnant but had yelled at me for an hour about how it wasn't ok for Tanner to stay the night and that I should have known better. She told me about the conversation she and Tanner had had, and I was mortified. I couldn't believe my mom would do such a thing.

When I walked out of the door, my mom gave me a curfew and told me not to keep Cora out too late. I'm not invalid; I know Cora's bedtime. It was taking everything I had not to scream at my mother, with the raging hormones and how she was acting. Somehow I was able to hold my emotions in and not say things I would regret. I love my mother, but my goodness, she was driving me up a wall.

I had been having issues with nausea all day, and the medication Dr. Ryan had given me hadn't seemed like it was working at all. I knew I needed to get out of my parent's house before either one of them found out I was pregnant.

KAYSEN BACK TO THE PRESENT*

"Is there a bathroom down here?" I asked as I quickly got up and put my hand to my mouth. I was about to hurl, thinking about hurling, my stomach bubbled, and acid made its way up my throat.

"Yes, under the stairs," Tanner said with his back to me as he was trying to find his saltine crackers.

I didn't even get a chance to shut the door to the bathroom and barely made it to the toilet. Thank God the toilet seat was up. The joy of men never putting the seat down.

I hurled everything I had managed to eat today, which wasn't much, and prayed for this to end soon. I'm not sure how long I had been throwing up, but I felt Tanner's masculine hands gathering my hair to keep it from getting dirty.

Tanner sat on the floor next to me and rubbed my back, and held my hair as I continued to throw up.

"Maybe we should stay here and not go anywhere?" Tanner told me as I continued to heave.

Tanner got up when it seemed I was done, wet a rag, and circled my face with it.

"I'm not sick, Tanner; I'm pregnant. Thank you for helping me. I'll be fine. Just give me a minute, please," I said as I flushed the toilet, and Tanner helped me up from the floor.

"I'll run and fetch my spare toothbrush for you; I'll be right back," Tanner said.

I smiled but inwardly cringed. Ever since Michael died, I've hated that term. I'll be right back. Those were Michaels last words to me before he walked out of the door and was gone forever.

When Tanner said something about going around the corner to get me ginger ale, I almost panicked. If I lost Tanner, I would seriously curl up into a ball and die. Not literally because I would have three babies to raise, but I would want to. Fate better be kinder to me this time around.

Tanner returned with the toothbrush and toothpaste and walked off to Cora. I brushed my teeth and made my way out to Tanner and Cora.

They looked so cute together, cuddling on the couch and watching My Little Pony. That sight made me instantly feel better.

"So, are we going to go?" I asked as I grabbed the saltine crackers and Cora's backpack and made my way to the door.

"Do you need to go potty, Cora?" Tanner asked Cora as he turned the tv off.

"No, thank you, I'm ready to play," Cora said excitedly as she jumped off of the sofa and ran over to me.

***

"Cora, this is my niece Adelaide. She is only a couple of months older than you," Tanner said as he introduced the girls.

Cora and Adelaide jumped and hugged each other and giggled in excitement.

"Let's go play!" Adelaide screamed, and the girls took off.

"Kaysen, this is Lyra, and my cousin Blaze, though he's more like a brother to me. This is my brother Jace and his wife Vega," Tanner explained as he introduced us all.

"Everyone, this is Kaysen, my girlfriend that I have told you all about," Tanner said, and everyone walked up to me. Lyra and Vega hugged me while Blaze and Jace shook my hand.

The resemblance between Lyra and Vega was uncanny. I hoped that I could remember which one was which. If I could remember correctly, from Tanner pointing them out, Lyra was wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and Vega was wearing a dress.

"It's so lovely to meet you," Vega and Lyra said in unison and drug me over to the couch.

"The guys are cooking dinner, which should be ready soon. I hope you love pasta. We have some wine would you like some. Vega and I are breastfeeding, so we can't have any, but you are welcome to some," Lyra said as she picked up her baby, who had been playing on the floor.

"Oh no, I'm okay with my water here. She is so cute, what's her name? I asked Lyra.

"This is my Bethany, and that cutie pie down there is Vivian. We had them only a couple of days apart from each other. Vega has two others, Nickolas and Jonah, and Adelaide has a twin brother Christopher. They are all in the playroom," Lyra said.

"Are you all planning for anymore?" I wondered how Lyra could have had another baby after having twins. I'm going to be done after these two are born.

"If God wills it, yes, Lyra and I will have more. Being pregnant and having babies is the most amazing gift," Vega said.

"Be forewarned twins run on Tanner's side of the family. Tanner and Jace's dad is twin brother to Blaze's dad, and twins are throughout that family line. I didn't think I would have twins because I'm a twin myself, but I was wrong," Lyra said as she and Vega laughed.

I didn't know what to say because they obviously didn't know I was pregnant. Tanner was doing a good job keeping us pregnant with twins a secret.

"What was it like being pregnant with twins?" I asked Lyra.

"Well, at first, I wanted to die because the nausea was so bad. But once I hit that four-month mark and nausea went away, I started feeling my babies fluttering around inside of me, and it was pure bliss. It was a bit difficult; once I hit my seventh month, I had to rest in bed due to the weight on my leg and them trying to rebreak my ribs. Other than that, it was a beautiful feeling," Lyra said.

I looked down to see the scars covering Lyra's left leg that I hadn't noticed before.

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked Lyra as I pointed towards her leg.

"I was in a horrific car accident, and shattered my leg, arm, and broke a few ribs. I was in a coma for close to two months, but I'm fine now. That happened almost four years ago," Lyra said as she put her right hand over her left arm, which I saw had scars on it as well.

"I'm sorry that that had happened to you. I lost my husband to a car accident a couple of years ago. I was almost seven months pregnant with Cora when it happened. I'm happy that you came through everything ok," I said and glanced up at Tanner, who was drinking a beer with Jace and Blaze.

"Oh no, sweetheart, that must have been so hard for you. Tanner better treat you well or Vega, and I will make sure he will never be able to have babies," Lyra said, and we all laughed.

"It was rocky at first, but Tanner is an amazing man. We both love each other very much, and he has done well with both Cora and me," I said as I blushed.

"We told him the other night he was in love, and he tried to brush it off. The way he looks at you from time to time, I can see the love in his eyes," Vega said.

"So he told you all about me?" I asked as I took a sip from my water.

"Oh yes. My goodness, he came over pleading for us to help him. He wanted to make things right between you two. Said he didn't want to be without you. It was cute seeing Tanner all venerable like that. Just know that he does love you even if he may not say it," Vega said.

"No, Tanner has told me on several occasions over that last couple of days that he loves me. We have picked out a rental home and will be moving in together in a couple of weeks," I said as I smiled widely and blushed.

"When you meet your soulmate, it's hard to be without them. I asked Blaze to move in with me within a week of us meeting each other, and other than work and school, we haven't been away from each other since," Lyra said.

***

It was a fantastic evening hanging out with parts of Tanner's family. I could tell that Lyra, Vega, and I would be great friends.

Cora and Adelaide cried when we told them it was time to leave. They had so much fun together. Tanner and I would need to get them together more often. Lyra and Vega are stay-at-home moms for now until their rehab hospital is completed, so I could most likely get Cora over there more often. It depended on how I felt from day today.

Tanner followed me back to my parent's house to make sure Cora and I arrived safely. He came in with us and helped me get Cora down to bed.

"I'll see you tomorrow. I don't want another confrontation from your mother; I might not be so nice next time," Tanner whispered into my ear and kissed my neck.

The kiss sent a tingling sensation to my Core, and I wished that Tanner could stay, but I knew it was for the best.

"My mom told me about that; I'm sorry, Tanner. Maybe we could go ahead and move in together next weekend instead of waiting two weeks as I had suggested at first. I don't want to be away from you any longer," I said as I looked up into Tanner's hypnotizing hazel eyes.

"That would make me the happiest man on earth, Kaysen," Tanner said as he kissed me.

A throat was cleared not far away from Tanner and me. I looked over to see my mom blowing steam out of her ears.

"My daughter isn't going anywhere with you unless you two get married, and if you do, Cora will be staying here," mom said as she walked off.

"Was she standing there the whole time? Don't worry; I'll get you out of here, Kaysen. I'll talk to Blaze and Lyra. They have a couple of spare rooms. We're painting the house right now, so you and Cora can't go there yet," Tanner said.

"Ok, Cora would love that. I can't be here anymore Tanner, I'll do whatever I need to do," I said and kissed Tanner before he left.

Writer's Note

Kaysen's mom is🥺😲but things are coming along quite well for Tanner and Kaysen☺️feel free to👍hugs and love Sapphirian J 🥰