Part 530

The walk out to the bus was painfully quiet for Sarah. She knew Howie was disappointed in her and was waiting for him to fuss at her…but so far, he hadn’t.

As they climbed on the bus, Howie asked, "What CD do you want to listen to, ‘Angel’?"

His voice was tender and full of love, which made it that much worse. "Doesn’t matter, ‘D’."

"Go on and get settled. I’m gonna put something on for you to relax and then I’ll come talk to you about the meeting."

Howie gave her a kiss and watched her head to their room at the back. He loved her beyond reason but there were times when she frustrated him. Now was definitely one of those times. It wasn’t like Kryss had aggressively come on to him like Fi had to Nick. She was just excited by the opportunity to meet him. Normally, Sarah was very friendly with his fans, laughing and joking with them, and more than willing to make sure they got the most from their experience.

In their room, Sarah slipped off her jewelry first, then her shoes. The fact that Howie was not broaching the subject of Kryss made her feel twice as bad. She’d much rather have him fussing at her than letting it go. Climbing into bed, Sarah wondered if she should be the one to bring up the matter.

Howie came into the room joining her on the bed. He lay on his side facing her and reached out to move her shirt so that he could caress her stomach. "What are the twins up to?"

"Sleeping." Sarah’s voice trembled slightly, enough for Howie to notice, and she felt like she’d lose control at any minute.

Howie saw the tears forming and knew she was punishing herself. He moved his hand to brush her hair away from her face. "We got everything Lou was going to include about you barred and he can not mention you at all or the slander suit will be filed. Same with things about our personal lives. He can ONLY talk about touring and our professional lives."

"What about Becca?"

"There’s no proof a tape actually exists but if one ever does surface, he will be sued. How were sound checks?"

"Okay." Sarah grew silent and looked away from his intense gaze. She couldn’t stand the fact that he was being so loving and tender rather than fussing at her.

Howie watched her and knew he had to put an end to it. "Sarah, let it go. You know you were wrong and there’s no need to beat yourself up over it."

The dam of tears broke and Howie moved closer to hold her. As she buried her face in his chest, he stroked her hair and back waiting for her to calm down.

"I don’t know why I’m letting her get to me," sniffled Sarah finally. "Are you mad?"

"No, sweetheart," he reassured. "Just disappointed. You’ve always been so open and friendly with the fans."

"I know."

"You’re tired, ‘Angel’, and your hormones always get the best of you when you are like this."

"I HA…."

Howie laughed softly stopping her sentenced. "I know, ‘Angel’. The only thing I can tell you is you need to start recognizing when its happening so you can avoid situations where you might get rude or mean. We’ve only got 6 more shows. You NEED to make sure you get plenty of rest. Staying up last night was NOT a good idea and I should never have gone along with it."

"But didn’t you enjoy it?" pouted Sarah.

"Of course I did, ‘Angel’. I always enjoy when we just sit and talk but it’s NOT worth it for you to be this upset. It’s five more hours before the show. Please sleep."

"I will," promised Sarah. "What are you gonna do?"

"I’m gonna go back in and do my sound check and then come back out here with my beautiful wife."

"You aren’t gonna make it up to Kryss for me being such a bitch?"

"YOU can do that later," answered Howie giving her a kiss on the tip of her nose. He got up grabbing his pillow and carefully tucking it under her belly. Then he pulled the covers over her. With her tucked in snuggly, Howie sat beside her playing with her hair. "Sarah, NEVER doubt my love for you. As frustrated as you make me, you are my life."

"I don’t, ‘D’…just get a little insecure from time to time."

"Insecure isn’t your style, ‘Angel’. You are a very strong, confident, independent lady…three things that I fell in love with immediately. You’re also very smart and in control."

Sarah smiled sleepily, "In other words, stop being a brat."

"Yeah," laughed Howie. "Now go to sleep. I’ll be back in a little while to join you."

"I love you," yawned Sarah.

"I love you, too." Howie kissed her lightly on the forehead and headed back inside to do his sound check.

Part 531       Index