TANNER*

“Kaysen, please stop. It’s not what you think. Kaysen! Please hear me out,” I plead, running after her.

Kaysen isn’t supposed to be carrying Cora or overexerting herself, but at this moment, I think she’s forgotten. It took me a moment to catch up to them, but when I did, I embraced them, near tears.

“Kaysen, please stop, or you will hurt yourself and our babies,” I whisper into her ear, hoping she would hear me and stop.

Tears stream down her face and I’m damn near joining her in her anguish.

“You had another woman in there, and she had her hands all over you. What am I supposed to think, Tanner?” Kaysen screams, trying to wiggle out of the hold I have on her.

On further inspection, as I turn my head, I see Mae coming towards us. Shit. This could be good or bad. I have no clue how this is going to go.

“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, so I could get our treacherous breakup out of my head.” She points towards an Asian man leaning against an older model mustang and grins. “See that man leaning on that car over there? He’s my fiance.”

“I’m sorry if I caused any problems. No one told me Tanner has moved on and has a girlfriend. We’re going to be late getting to our flight, so I need to leave. But I wish you both the best,” Mae says, leaving without another word. Her fiance helps her into the car, then gets in himself and they leave.

“Let me have Cora please before you harm yourself,” I say, and Kaysen hands her over to me.

***

“I’m feeling like a right fool, Tanner. Please forgive my overreaction. Seeing you with her almost broke my heart,” Kaysen says as I usher her into my apartment and she walks over to sit on the couch, cupping her face with her hands.

“Kaysen, baby. I would never cheat on you. It’s not in my DNA. My ex cheated on me back in college and it broke me. Cheating isn’t something you’ll need to worry about with me. You are the only woman I want. I need you like I need the blood pumping through my veins and the air that I breathe. That was Mae, my ex, that I broke up with six months ago that I told you about,” I said, handing Kaysen a bottle of water and placing a straw into a juice box and handing it to Cora.

“Mommy, are you ok?” Cora asks Kaysen, as she gives her a side hug.

“Yes, mommy is ok. I’m sorry mommy upset you. Are you excited about playing with Adelaide this evening?” Kaysen asks Cora as she skims her fingers through Cora’s curly hair.

“Yes! Can we go soon?!” 

“Yes, baby, just let mommy rest for a few minutes,” Kaysen says, fishing through Cora’s backpack.

“Tanner, do you have any saltine crackers or ginger ale? I forgot my anti-nausea medication at the house,” Kaysen asks me, taking a sip of water.

“I still have several saltine crackers from earlier. 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 ask, rising and walking towards the kitchen. Seeing Mae upset her and I understand where she’s coming from.

“No, we can get some on the way to Blaze’s house. Saltine crackers should do just fine for now.” 

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 something fierce.

My first instinct was to grab Cora and run. Get away as fast as possible. For a moment, I had forgotten about our babies. The stress of everything going on in my life had hit me like standing on a random live wire and being electrocuted to death. Never in my life have I ever been this compulsive.

When Tanner hugged Cora and me and told me to stop to prevent me from harming myself or the babies, reality hit me. Tingles flowed through me at the skin-to-skin contact, and I couldn’t understand why my body was betraying me. How could I still feel the need for 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.

Now all I feel is embarrassment and shame for running out like I had and not giving Tanner a chance to explain. I don’t think anyone else would have reacted any differently, though. My pregnancy hormones are driving me nuts and I can’t think straight.

Everything between Tanner and me 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, but never throwing up. 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 masked the sound of me trying to force myself to throw up.

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 her conversation with Tanner, and my mortification was intense. 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 an 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 could 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 have been having issues with nausea all day, and the medication Dr. Ryan had given me doesn’t seem to help me at all. Not today anyway. It’s apparent that I need to get out of my parents’ place as soon as possible. My dad won’t care much about me being pregnant, but my mother sure as hell will and I don’t want to hear anymore judgment coming from her.

KAYSEN BACK TO THE PRESENT*

“Is there a bathroom down here?” I ask as I rise 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. Crap. Crap. Crap.

“Yes, under the stairs,” Tanner says with his back to me, searching for the saltines he purchased earlier.

I didn’t even have time 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 eaten today, which wasn’t much, and prayed for this to end soon. I’m not sure how long I’ve been in here throwing up, but out of nowhere I feel Tanner’s masculine hands gathering my hair to keep it from getting chunks in my hair. Have I stated how much I love this man? If not, I love him more than words could ever express. There we go. I said it. I love Tanner.

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 suggested 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 just pregnant. Thank you for helping me. I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute, please,” I said, flushing the toilet. Then Tanner helped me up from the floor.

“I’ll run and fetch my spare toothbrush for you. I’ll be right back.” 

I smiled, but inwardly cringed. Ever since Michael died, I’ve hated that term. I’ll be right back. Those were Michael’s 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 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, then left me to it, walking off to check on 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 feel a lot better.

“So, are we going to go?” I asked as I grabbed the saltine crackers and Cora’s backpack, making my way to the door.

“Do you need to go potty, Cora?” Tanner asked, turning off the television.

“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, introducing 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.” 

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

The resemblance between Lyra and Vega is uncanny. I hope I can 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, pulling me over to the couch.

“The guys are cooking dinner, which should be ready soon. I hope you love pasta. There’s wine in the kitchen. Would you like some? Vega and I are breastfeeding, so we can’t have any, but you are welcome to some,” Lyra asked, picking 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 want to be pregnant again after having twins. I’m going to be done after these two are born. Looking at her, though, I can see how I could if the chance arose. She and her sister are a few inches shorter than me and not as big-boned as I am. If Lyra can do it. That means I could as well.

“If God wills it, yes, Lyra and I will have more. Being pregnant and having babies is the most amazing gift,” Vega says, grinning.

“Twins are common on Tanner’s side of the family. Tanner and Jace’s dad a twin brother to Blaze’s dad, and twins are throughout that family line on both their mothers and fathers’ sides. I didn’t think I would have twins because I’m a twin myself, but I was wrong,” Lyra explained, as she and Vega laugh.

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

“What was it like being pregnant with twins?” I ask Lyra.

“Well, at first, I wanted to die because the nausea was so bad. But once I hit that four-month mark, and the nausea went away, I started feeling my babies fluttering around inside of me, and it was pure bliss. It was difficult. Yet once I hit my seventh month, I had to rest in bed because of the weight on my leg and them trying to re break my ribs. Or that’s what it felt like, anyway. Other than that, it was a beautiful feeling.”

Glancing down, I notice the scars covering Lyra’s left leg that I hadn’t noticed before. Tanner had told me she was in a horrific car crash. Now I’m seeing the aftermath of what happened to her, and a twinge of sadness shoots through me. Michael died after a car crash. I’m glad she lived through hers, though. She seems like such a wonderful person.

“Tanner told me you were in a car accident. But do you mind me asking what happened?”

“To be honest, I can’t remember much. I remember getting sideswiped by a car on the loop. It was early morning, around nine. I was in a coma for almost two months. Woke up being told that I had a shattered arm, leg, and several broken ribs on my left side. Don’t worry though, 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 had happened to you. A car accident killed my husband a couple of years ago. I was almost seven months pregnant with Cora when it happened. I’m happy that you came through,” 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 can never have babies again,” 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, blushing.

“We told him the other night he was in love, and he tried to brush us 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 loves you, even if he may not say it,” Vega said.

“No, Tanner has told me many times over the last couple of days that he loves me. We have picked out a rental home and will move in together in a couple of weeks,” I said, smiling as my face flushes.

“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 says, grinning.

***

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. Because Lyra and Vega are stay-at-home moms until their rehab hospital comes to completion, we can easily arrange frequent visits for Cora. It depended on how I feel 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.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back to 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 Tanner could stay, but I knew it was for the best that he was leaving.

“My mom told me about that. I’m sorry, Tanner. Maybe we could move in together next weekend instead of waiting for two weeks as I had suggested at first. I don’t want to be away from you any longer,” I said, glancing up into Tanner’s hypnotizing hazel eyes.

“That would make me the happiest man on earth, Kaysen,” Tanner says, bending slightly to kiss me.

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

“My daughter isn’t going anywhere with you unless you two get married, and if you do, Cora will stay here,” mom says, walking off without another word.

“Was she standing there the whole time? Don’t worry, Kaysen. I’ll get you out of here. 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.” 

“Cora would love that. I can’t be here anymore Tanner, I’ll do whatever I need to do,” I say, kissing Tanner before he leaves.