Moving Out

TANNER*

"Goodnight, Mrs. Richardson," I said as I reached the front door.

"Why are you doing this?" Nancy asked.

"Because I love your daughter Ma'am, and I'm going to ask her to marry me, but we are going to live together first. We can't be rushed, but Kaysen and I don't want to be apart from each other any longer. I promise to take care of Kaysen and Cora. I will care for Cora as if she were my own flesh and blood. Please let this go and let Kaysen and I be happy, don't make this any harder than it has already become," I said as I opened the door to walk out.

"You're taking my only child and granddaughter away from me; I'm not going to stand by and let you do that. I will fight this. Mark my words, young man," Nancy said as she tried to block my exit.

"For one, Ma'am, I am about to turn thirty-two years old, and I'm CFO and Co-owner to a billion-dollar company; please stop calling me young man. It would be best if you let Kaysen go; I'm not going to take either of them from you. We will be right here in the city and can come by at any time. I also wouldn't mind you and your husband coming by at any time, as long as you give Kaysen and me a warning beforehand. Kaysen and I have already picked out a home. She and Cora can move out now, or in two weeks; that depends on how far you take this," I said as I gestured for Nancy to move and walked out of the house.

Something tells me Kaysen, and I will have difficulty getting her and Cora out of her parent's house.

***THE NEXT DAY***

I had called Blaze last night and asked him to meet me at the house early to talk to him about Kaysen and Cora staying with them until we could move into our new home. I had arrived and was getting the rooms ready to be painted when Blaze walked in.

"Hey Tanner, how are things going. Sorry, I'm not as early as I wanted to be. Lyra and I finally had a little alone time this morning before the kids woke up, and we took full advantage of that. It doesn't happen much these days unless it's late at night," Blaze said and chuckled.

"I bet it's all good I understand, our women and," I trailed off. "Your woman and children come first, I understand." I corrected myself.

I need to tell my brother and family about Kaysen being pregnant, or I'm going to end up spilling the beans one way or the other. Keeping this secret is becoming quite hard.

Blaze got a questioning look on his face as if he were trying to figure out what I would say and bent down to help me pull the plastic floor covering across the floor.

"So what were you needing to talk to me about Tanner, it sounded serious, and you called instead of texting?" Blaze asked as he spread painter's tape along the floor's border.

"Is there any possibility that Kaysen and Cora could stay with you and Lyra for a little while until we could get moved in here? If it's too much, I understand; I would need to figure something else out. I don't have the space in my loft apartment, or I would let them move in with me for a little while," I said as I spread more painter's tape along the floor and looked up to see that Blaze was starting on taping the ceiling.

"Let me talk to Lyra, ok, and I'll get back to you tonight. I'm sure that she would be fine with it. They all got along quite well last night, and Adelaide would be happy to have a playmate for a while. Why does Kaysen need a place to stay?" Blaze asked.

"Kaysen is currently living with her parents, and well, they aren't to Keen on the idea of her moving out with me. We've had a few run-ins, and I stayed the other night because Kaysen was upset, and I didn't want to leave her that way. It didn't go over so well with her mother. Kaysen is ready to be free from her parents; they are overbearing and judgemental. She has had problems with them for the past couple of months. There are other matters at hand that I can't talk about just yet. Know that I must find somewhere else for Kaysen and Cora to be until we can move into this house," I said as Blaze, and I walked to the next room to prep for painting.

"Jace, Connor, and Wade will be here soon. If you don't mind, I'll run and talk to Lyra now and see what we can do. If Lyra is fine with it, I'll have her prepare the guest room for Kaysen, and I'll run to get a toddler bed for Cora to put in Adelaide's room. I'm sure they would want to spend every moment together if possible," Blaze said.

"Is there a possibility that Lyra's parents could babysit the kids so that Lyra and Vega could help Kaysen pack and move this evening? If Lyra is ok with Kaysen and Cora staying for a bit, that is?" I asked Blaze as I walked him to the front door.

"I'm sure my mom would want to go over and help with the kids as well. Family night dinner isn't until next Saturday, so this happening now is perfect timing," Blaze said as he walked out of the door.

"Thank you, Blaze. Will you be coming back here after talking to Lyra?" I asked.

"Yes, so we can get all of this painting done and over with today. We have church tomorrow, and Sundays are always busy for us all," Blaze said.

"OK, See you in a little while," I said as Blaze jumped in his truck and left.

***

Two hours had passed, and Jace, Wade, Connor, and I had managed to get the first coat on the walls in the four bedrooms and the Ensuite bathrooms. I have been anxiously waiting for Blaze to return. It seemed to be taking quite a while.

"I'm back; I'll get started on the office, Tanner would you mind coming with me for a moment," Blaze said as he walked out of the room I was in.

"Sure," I said as I followed Blaze to the office.

"So Lyra was fine with Kaysen and Cora staying with us. Her parents and my mom will be there soon to babysit the kids. I went ahead and got a toddler bed for Cora and set it up in Adelaide's room. That is why I was gone for so long," Blaze said as he laid the tarp out on the floor.

"That's great, Blaze, thank you. Let me text Kaysen real fast to tell Lyra and Vega will be there soon. I'll text you Kaysen's address so you can forward it to Lyra, and then I'll help you get this room painted so that we can all go to lunch," I said as I walked to the kitchen, jumped up, and sat on the bar.

"Hey baby, Blaze talked to Lyra, and they are ok with you and Cora staying with them for a little while. Lyra and Vega will be there soon to help you get packed up and moved. Blaze got a toddler bed for Cora, so you don't need to worry about taking any furniture. Remember not to lift anything too heavy. I'll see you later on this evening after we have finished with the painting," I texted Kaysen and waited about five minutes for her reply.

"That's great, Tanner, thank you. I'm sure Cora is going to be ecstatic! I love you, Tanner!" Kaysen texted back, and I jumped down from the bar and walked back to the office to help Blaze paint. Jace, Connor, and Wade went ahead and went to get lunch.

***KAYSEN***

After Tanner had texted me, I went to Cora's room and started folding and packing Cora's clothes into suitcases. I made sure to pack her most-used shoes and put her tea set and Dolls in the suitcase with the shoes. I decided to leave most of her other toys and things for when she visited. Despite everything, I was not going to keep Cora from my parents. I managed to get all of Cora's things packed without my mom caught on to anything. My mom was in the Livingroom watching Strawberry Shortcake with Cora, as I had been before Tanner had texted.

I had just finished packing Cora's backpack with her toothbrush and other toiletries when my mom walked in.

"Kaysen, you have some friends to visit you," my mom trailed off as she noticed the suitcases and me stuffing Cora's brush into her backpack.

"What's going on," my mom said as she crossed the room and opened one of the packed suitcases.

"Cora and I are moving out, momma. You knew this was going to be happening; I was going to move out a month ago. Cora and I leaving should not be any surprise to you, Mom," I said as I zipped up Cora's backpack.

"It's one thing for you and Cora to be getting your own place and another for you to be moving in with a man you hardly know, Kaysen," my mom said as she started taking Cora's clothes out of the suitcase.

I ran over and grabbed the clothes from my mother and placed them back into the suitcase. "Mom, I'm leaving, ok. We can do this in a friendly manner, or you can cause a scene, but I'm leaving either way. Also, I'm not moving in with Tanner yet. I'm moving in with Lyra and her husband Blaze, Tanner's cousin, and his wife.

"You can do what you want, but you are not taking Cora with you," mom said.

At that time, Vega walked in. "Is everything ok, Kaysen?" Vega said worriedly.

"Yes, I'm sorry, my mom and I were trying to straighten things out. If you don't mind going back in there with Lyra and Cora, I'll be out there shortly," I said and tried to smile to reassure Vega that I was ok.

"You know where I am if you need me," Vega said as she glared at my mom.

Once Vega had left, my mother glared at me and went for the other suitcase I had lying on the bed.

"As I said before, you aren't taking Cora. I will get a lawyer and take her from you. You are an unfit mother. Trying to move in with a man you don't even know, and you don't have a job or anything," my mom cried as she started tossing things out of the suitcase.

"It was a big mistake for me to have ever moved in here after Michael died. Cora is my daughter, not yours. If you try to take Cora from me, I'll make sure you never see her again. If you let this go, you will be able to see her on weekends and a couple of days a week. I'm not taking her from you, but if you try to take her from me, I will. Do you understand what I'm saying, mother? Let it go and let Cora and I leave; stop acting this way, mom," I said as I grabbed the clothes from my mother yet again.

My mom glared at me, tears pooling in her eyes, and she ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. I packed all the clothes my mom had thrown out of the suitcase, and at that time, Lyra and Vega strode into the room with Cora.

"If you don't mind, Vega is going to stay here to help you pack. I want to take Cora and her things with me back to the house," Lyra said as Cora ran up to me and hugged my leg.

"That might be the best thing. Let me get my mom so that she can say goodbye to Cora. Heaven forbid I don't let her say goodbye," I said as I made my way to the bathroom down the hall.

"Mom Lyra is taking Cora with her to her house. Would you like to say goodbye? I need to ask you to please not cause a scene; if you can't do that, then I'm going to let Lyra take her," I said through the door.

Soon after, the door opened, and my mother stepped out into the hallway. She walked to Cora's room and put a forced smile on her face.

"Nana, guess what! I get to go play with my friend again!" Cora cried happily as she hugged my mom's hips.

"I know, sweetheart; I'm so happy for you. Nana loves you very much. You be a good girl and have fun, ok. I'll see you again soon," Mom said as she bent down to hug and kiss Cora.

***

My mom had gone to her room after Lyra left with Cora, and Vega and I were able to pack my things and get them into my car quickly. I left my mother's house without saying goodbye because I felt she would cause another scene, and I couldn't handle that happening again.

Vega and I had just arrived at Blaze and Lyra's place. I felt like I was about to throw up all over the place. My stomach has been in knots since my mother's outburst an hour or so ago. I hoped that I would start to feel better now that I had gotten away from my mother.

Writer's Note

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