Crazy about Tara Read online

  He had also told her no more hot showers or baths. They needed to be warm, since that was what caused her to faint. She’s able to go home, so Sam and Trevor take their women to the grocery store so that they can make her a proper meal. Now that we all know she needs to eat, I think it’s safe to say that she’s going to have food shoved in front of her constantly.

  I look at my brothers and I can see the excitement in their eyes. They love the idea of being uncles, and it’s crazy to think that I’m not even worried about having a baby. I love Tara and I’m so fucking glad she’s having my baby.

  Chapter Two

  Tara

  Pregnant. Wow, I still can’t believe I am pregnant. I never even thought that was a possibility. I take the birth control shot so that I don’t get my periods every month. They had made sure that everything was okay with the baby before they went and told everyone else. I was so scared that Derek would have been pissed or felt like he was stuck with me, but he looked so happy when I asked him if he was mad.

  I knew how my parents were going to react before I called them. My family has always been a talkative bunch, and I think that’s why I start ranting when I am nervous. If I didn’t say it fast and at once then I never would have been able to explain anything. I also knew that my family would want to meet Derek. I wasn’t scared that they weren’t going to like him; that’s not why I was stalling. I have been putting it off because of my family. They can be, well, crazy, and that’s putting it mildly.

  I love them and their crazy quirks. I already know that they aren’t going to have a problem with our prank war. My family is who I learned it all from. I would even expect them to join in because I know they plan on being here for at least two weeks. They really hated Jeff, but he also thought they were weird. He used to be a good guy and treated me great. At one point I had felt special.

  Now that I am with Derek, I know what special really feels like. Sure, I get texts here and there from Jeff saying that he’s sorry, but I just ignore them. I’m in love and I don’t remember ever being happier. I thought I knew what love was until I met Derek who showed me what it was like to be loved. I never have to worry about him cheating on me because he knows how to make sure that I am the only girl he will ever see.

  That night, when we got home, Trevor and Sam made a huge meal. I know my eyes went wide at the sight of it, but they were trying to take care of me.

  “Tara gets first grabs since she’s carrying the next generation of Hastings,” Liam says as he slaps Trevor’s hand away.

  “What if I don’t care about the Hastings’ generations?” Kyle asks smirking at him.

  “Be careful, Johnson, you don’t want to start this with me. Not today,” Liam narrows his eyes playfully at him.

  “Why not today?” Kyle blinks innocently at him.

  “Because then I will have to list all the reasons why the Hastings brothers are better than the Johnson brothers, and you don’t want that,” Liam tells him.

  “Is that because there aren’t that many reasons?” Noah pipes up smirking at Liam.

  “Fuck no, it’s because I don’t want you guys to start feeling bad for yourselves and, next thing we know, you guys don’t want to be Johnsons anymore; you will want to be Hastings,” Liam tells him smirking back.

  “You might not want Noah to have your last name if he doesn’t get his crabs under control,” Claire says making everyone laugh.

  I know what they are doing. They are making the tension in the room lessen by going on about nothing that matters. It seems like every time there is tension in the room or it’s quiet for too long, Claire makes a joke about Noah having crabs and I think that joke will never die down.

  I try and grab my normal serving, but the brothers just add more on my plate saying that I need to eat more. Before I know it, there is a mountain of food on my plate; there is no way I can eat all of that.

  Courtney eyes my plate and lets out a laugh causing Paige and Claire to look, and they laugh too making me shake my head at the men. They are seriously going overboard with this.

  “Seriously guys? Tara is not going to eat all of that,” Courtney says laughing.

  “She can nibble on it all night, but she’s not going to sleep until it’s all gone,” Cole says with the most serious face I have ever seen on him. Wow, I already know that they are protective, but I wonder if this is just a taste of how bad they are going to be with me now that I am carrying a baby.

  Before I can speak, the front door opens. We all look to see who it is, and when I do I can’t help but smile. Thomas. He’s like a father to all of us girls, but we aren’t blind and know how attractive he is. We also love to tease the guys about it because we love nothing more than getting them all worked up.

  He walks straight up to me and gives me a big hug. I can’t help but put my arms around his waist and squeeze him back. Seriously, this guy is all muscle. You wouldn’t think so because of his age, but he doesn’t look his age either. I think he is ex-military, a body builder, or maybe a Demi-God. I can feel Derek glaring at me from here, and the girls all smile.

  “Tara, baby girl, what happened? I was with some friends, and when I came home the neighbor, Mrs. Davenport, was telling me all about how an ambulance was outside your house and she saw you on a stretcher,” he asks me when he pulls back from the hug.

  “I had passed out, and when they couldn’t wake me they had called the ambulance. I ended up getting some tests done,” I tell him. I see the worry in his eyes.

  “What kind of tests? Are you sick? Please don’t tell me that you’re sick!” he asks me, his eyes pleading with me to tell him that I’m not sick.

  “No, Thomas, I’m not sick, well, not really. I’m pregnant. I had passed out due to anemia caused by my pregnancy. I also had just got out of a hot shower and it caused my body to overheat. I didn’t know I was pregnant, so I didn’t know of the anemia or the dangers of becoming dehydrated or not eating. Add all of that together, and my body couldn’t take it anymore. Before you say anything, I’m fine and the baby is fine. I’m sixteen weeks pregnant. I honestly don’t know how I didn’t know I was pregnant for that long. If I didn’t pass out, I probably could have been on that show! I just need to have my diet figured out and take extra care of myself to make sure that I don’t overheat my body again,” I tell him. This is one of my ramblings, but I am not embarrassed about it since I didn’t say anything weird or anything to cause me to blush.

  Thomas looks at me for a moment letting it all sink in. “Okay then. You better eat all of your food then. I don’t want you wasting a crumb of it,” he tells me and pushes the mountain of a plate towards me. I can’t help but gape at him. I don’t think he has ever agreed with the guys before. I know I’m not alone in this realization when I look around and everyone’s jaws drop in shock.

  When no one moves, he looks around the room and his lips twitch in amusement. “What? Seriously, the guys have the right idea to feed you. They know how to take care of you by the looks of this plate. Now come on, let’s get your iron up.” Thomas gives the girls a look to make their own plate and crosses his arms over his chest until they do. Once they make their plates, he makes his plate and gestures to the guys to make theirs. Seriously, when did he become the boss? Everyone is just silently listening to him, but I don’t miss the shock on everyone’s faces.

  “So, tell me about this baby. Did you tell your parents?” Thomas asks when he has his plate and sits beside me.

  “Yes, I did phone them. They are coming down sometime in the next couple weeks. I’m sure they would like to meet you,” I tell him. I honestly want him to meet my family. I already know my dad would love him and my mom would probably swoon since she already seemed to do that with just Derek’s voice over the phone. I silently chuckle and shake my head when I think about how quiet she got. I don’t think my mother has ever been that quiet.

  “I would love to meet your parents and tell them all about these guys here and how they pick on my women,” Th
omas tells everyone with a small smile on his face.

  “Are we supposed to just be okay that he calls our women his women?” Cole asks seriously. We all shake our heads and chuckle at him.

  “Yes,” the Johnson brothers and Liam all say with smiles on their faces. I can’t wait until those guys find women of their own and Thomas takes them under their wing. No woman can resist his charm.

  Chapter Three

  Derek

  Right after dinner I take Tara to bed. I know she had a long day and is tired since I haven’t heard her ramble all night. I know she was being polite by not telling everyone how tired she was.

  She doesn’t seem to fight me when I strip her down to nothing. I know she loves to sleep with my shirt on, so I take it off and put it on her. She is really dead on her feet. I strip down into my boxers after I use the washroom and brush my teeth.

  Once I climb into bed, I bring Tara to me so her back is to my front. I run my hand over her belly and a small smile comes to my face.

  “You’re not mad?” she asks me in such a low voice that I almost miss it.

  “No, baby, I’m not mad. I’m really fucking happy that we are having a baby. We’ve got a pretty crazy family here, and I think that a baby just adds more to it. We might have to tone it down on some of the pranks, but I’m sure we can figure out stuff for you that won’t harm the baby.” I chuckle when she rolls onto her back and narrows her eyes at me.

  “As long as no one turns my hair blue again, I think I can manage,” she says, and I chuckle and kiss her head.

  “Alright, get some rest now, baby. You had a really long day,” I whisper, and she nods her head slightly and falls asleep.

  The next morning, we wake up and head downstairs for breakfast.

  There is an extra pot on the counter, but it’s a small, four-cup pot. I look at Paige and Trevor in question, and so does Tara.

  “Tara should have as little caffeine as she can, so this is her coffee pot,” Trevor says pointing to it.

  He pulls a can of decaf coffee out of the grocery bag slowly looking at Tara the entire time.

  “What? Why do I have to cut my caffeine down? Can’t I still have at least one cup?” Tara protests.

  “No can do, sweets. You’re carrying the future Hastings. We have to do everything we can to make sure that baby is healthy. You have already had sixteen weeks worth of caffeine when you shouldn’t have,” Trevor says giving Tara a stern look. It takes everything in me to not laugh.

  “I didn’t even know I was pregnant!” Tara says throwing her hands in the air.

  “That’s besides the point. Now that we know, we are going to take this very seriously,” Trevor says, and I look at Paige who has her head in the fridge. I can see her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

  I start making Tara’s coffee, and I don’t miss the way her eyes watch my every move. I think it will be awhile before the women trust us to make their coffees again, after we had sabotaged them one time.

  “I can’t believe you’re making me drink this crap! Who willingly drinks decaf coffee? This is just a tease! It’s like oh, here’s a cup of java to kick start your day- not!” Tara practically yells in Trevor’s face.

  Cole and Liam come into the kitchen carrying a bunch of bags.

  I look at the clock and it says nine in the morning. Seriously, what did my brothers manage to do before I woke up this morning? They obviously had time to go shopping for a coffee pot and other things by the looks of it.

  “What’s in the bag?” I ask curiously.

  They dump the bags on the counter displaying what is probably every pregnancy, baby, and daddy-to-be book known to man. I can’t help the laugh that escapes me. Well, at least they got that done before I could, so now I don’t have to make a trip to the book store this morning.

  “You have got to be kidding me!” Tara yells picking up the books and looking at each title and cover.

  “Well, how else are we going to learn about our niece or nephew?” Liam glares at Tara.

  “Whatever, I’m sure if there is an uncle-to-be book, you guys will find it,” she grumbles grabbing her coffee and walking into the backyard.

  “You guys are taking this baby thing very seriously,” Paige mutters before she follows Tara out. All my brothers do is just shrug their shoulders and follow Tara and Paige outside.

  We all make our way outside. Claire and Sam come a few minutes later. He hands Tara a plate full of breakfast and a piece of paper.

  “What’s this?” Tara says picking up the paper not bothering to read it, but instead looking at Sam with confusion.

  “It’s your schedule for prenatal classes. They have ones designed for each trimester. Isn’t it cool?” Sam says as Claire takes her seat on his lap. I can see her lips twitch in amusement.

  “You signed me up for prenatal exercise?” Tara asks in shock.

  “Of course. We have to do everything we can to make sure your body is prepared to have that baby,” Sam says in a tone that makes it look like Tara is the crazy one here.

  I could say that I’m shocked at how my brothers are acting, but I’m really not. Once they set their mind to something, there really is no stopping them. Considering that this will be the first baby in the family, I know they and myself will take it overboard from time to time.

  Tara rubs her head with her fingers. “I can’t even… What do you mean by ‘we’?”

  “What I mean by ‘we’ is my brothers and me. We can’t take any chances with that baby,” Sam says pointing to Tara’s stomach.

  “You guys are really annoying right now, and without my REAL coffee I might just kill one of you,” Tara grumbles and takes a sip of her coffee.

  “Now, now, is that any way to treat your future brothers-in-law?” Liam says smirking at Tara.

  “My family can’t get here fast enough,” Tara mumbles, but I don’t think anyone but me heard it.

  “What do you mean by that, baby?” I whisper in her ear so that no one can hear me.

  “You will understand once you meet them,” she whispers back with a smile that I can’t seem to trust.

  I shrug and drink my coffee not thinking anything more about it. Tara’s family can’t be that bad, can they?

  Tara

  I can already tell that these guys are going to drive me crazy. I don’t know what to do about them already trying to take over my life.

  Next thing I know, they will try and banish me from all pranks until I have the baby. It wouldn’t be so bad to not be pranked on, but that doesn’t mean that I still wouldn’t help my girls when the time came.

  When I tried to warn Derek about my family I wasn’t joking, but I don’t think he knew that I was serious.

  My family can be a little crazy which might be putting it mildly.

  My mom, Delores, and my father, Hank, have been in love since they were teenagers. It wasn’t exactly love at first sight, or so they tell me.

  My mom didn’t give my dad the time of day at first. She was a cheerleader and popular, and my dad was a science nerd.

  My dad said he had spent two years crushing over my mom before he got the guts to talk to her. The fact that they were signed up for a project in Biology helped, I think.

  That was when she got to know him. He loved to tell jokes, so he made it his mission to make her laugh. They became friends at first before she kissed him one night when they were studying.

  They tell my siblings and me that they have been inseparable ever since.

  They had my brother, Richard, shortly after high school, and then they had my sister, Caroline. I am the baby of the family and they treat me like it every chance they can. It’s been that way my whole life.

  Saying that they are overprotective of me is an understatement. They seem to constantly question anyone new that comes into my life. I’ve lost many friends because they couldn’t handle putting up with my family’s protectiveness of me.

  I was bullied when I was a child. I wasn’t skinny, but I
wasn’t chubby either. I was somewhere in the middle. Some people liked to poke fun at my weight, but it was done by girls who were size zero and you could count their ribs.

  I also had huge glasses, and I have since moved to a smaller pair. I usually wear my contacts. I don’t think that anyone except for Derek has seen me in my glasses. Everyone thought that it was okay to make fun of me growing up, and my ranting didn’t help. No one seemed to find it as charming as the Hastings Brothers and the girls do.

  My family loves to talk a lot and if I didn’t rant and say everything I wanted to say in that one moment, I would never get a word in. That’s how my rants started, and over the years it never seemed to go away. My mother had done a fair share of ranting growing up as well.

  When I moved away with Jeff and barely saw my family, I still ended up ranting whenever I was nervous or embarrassed.

  I was very glad when I had met Paige and Courtney. When I had met the brothers, I had been very cautious at first, but the more I hung out and had coffee with them the more I realized how great of guys they are. They never cared that I always seemed to say whatever was going on in my head.

  I was scared to give Derek a chance at first, but the more he came around the harder he was for me to resist. From the first time I saw him, I thought he was sexy. He was always looking at me, and he looked at Jeff like he wanted to kick his ass for even thinking of cheating on me even though it never made sense to me why.

  I didn’t think I would find anything again, especially so soon after I had left Jeff. I never had the best luck with guys and always seemed to find the ones that treat me like crap and talk down to me all the time. I felt ashamed to admit that I would always let them. It wasn’t until I dated Derek that I knew how a man was supposed to treat his woman.

  It went beyond holding open car doors for me or pulling out my chair at a restaurant. He always found a way to make me smile and he seemed to make a habit out of making me blush. He is always considerate of my feelings and, when I rant or ramble, I see amusement like he thinks it’s cute or adorable instead of weird. His family and the girls all seemed to love that I would ramble or rant whenever I was nervous, which was a lot in the beginning. I was glad I found people who didn’t find it annoying or strange.