Chapter 24
As the guys came off the stage, Linda was waiting for them and she didn't look happy. She asked Kevin, "Where's Tyler?"
"With Fatima getting changed. What's up?"
"The trial has been set."
The others heard Linda and AJ asked, "When is it?"
Linda's expression told the story and Kevin said, "NO! Don't say it, Linda!"
"I'm sorry, Kevin. Christine did the best she could. It begins April 17th."
Kevin hit the wall beside him in anger. "Damnit!"
Howie asked, "You are kidding, right?"
Linda shook her head, "I wish I were. Kevin, the invitations aren't done yet. Talk to Tyler and maybe you can change the date."
"Yeah, Kevin, just change the date," said Nick.
"We move it up and she's got the thought of the trial hanging over her head on what's suppose to be the happiest day of her life," said Kevin.
"Then move it back," said Nick.
Brian said, "They can't move it back. Ty's going to start showing soon."
Always the voice of reason, Howie said, "Kev, just talk to Ty. She may surprise you."
"Yeah, Tyler's safe and she may be able to handle this now," said Brian.
"Guys, you need to go get ready. The plane is waiting on you," said Linda.
"Linda, don't tell Ty," said Kevin. "I'll tell her."
"Just go get ready, will ya?" said Linda.
The guys went to the locker room where they showered and got dressed. When they were ready, all five went out and found Tyler waiting for them.
"What took you so long?" teased Tyler. "You'd think you were a bunch of girls getting ready."
Kevin took her in her arms and said, "I wanted to look my best for you."
"Oh, you're always at your best, 'Boo'," answered Tyler with a kiss.
"What about me? Don't I look good?" asked Nick as he primped like a girl.
Everyone laughed and Tyler said, "Oh, Nicky, you are just too beautiful!"
Aggravated by the joking and playing, Brian said, "Let's go!"
The others looked at Brian and Tyler asked, "What's wrong, Bribear? Are you in a hurry to get to Florida?"
"Sort of."
"Okay, let's go," said Kevin.
As the six of them were leaving the stadium, Nick and Tyler were playing around with each other, teasing and picking at each other.
Kevin said, "We need to let Linda know that we're leaving."
Tyler spotted Linda talking to a guy who she thought she recognized but she wasn't sure where she'd seen him. "Hey, Linda! We're headed to Florida."
Linda looked up and said, "Y'all have a safe trip."
Kevin asked, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"
Linda grinned as she said, "Jaime, these are the Backstreet Boys, Kevin-the dark haired-tall one, Nick, the tall blonde, Howie, AJ, the one with tattoos, and Brian, the other blonde. And the girl is Tyler, Kevin's fiancé. Guys, this is Jaime Gomez."
The guys all shook hands with Jaime and Tyler said, "You look familiar."
Jaime said, "I played Evan Cortez on 'Nash Bridges' for five years."
"I thought I'd seen you somewhere. I love that show! Too bad they killed Evan off," said Tyler.
"How did you meet Linda?" asked Nick.
"Jaime came to both of the Oakland shows," said Linda.
Kevin raised his eyebrows and said, "Sounds interesting. Jaime, will we see you in Vegas?"
"It depends on my schedule."
"It was nice to meet you," said AJ.
"The plane is waiting on you. Get going!" said Linda.
The six left and as they were going to the waiting limo, Tyler said, "He is gorgeous."
Kevin looked at her with his eyebrows raised, "Oh yeah?"
Laughing, Tyler said, "Yes, but not as gorgeous as you! Don't be so jealous."
AJ teased, "Not even married yet and she's window shopping."
Tyler shot back "It doesn't matter where you get the appetite, it's where you come home for dinner."
Kevin had his arms around Tyler's shoulders and he pulled her close to kiss her. He said, "As long as you come home to me, you can look all you want."
"Always, 'Boo'."
The trip to the airport was quick and when they were all on the plane and settled, Kevin took Tyler's hand in his. That's when Tyler noticed the cuts and bruises.
"'Boo', what happened to your hand?"
All the guys looked up at Kevin and then quickly looked away finding something else to occupy them. Tyler saw their reaction and knew something was going on.
Kevin said, "There's no easy way to tell you. The trial has been set for April 17th."
Everyone waited for Tyler's reaction as she thought about it for several minutes. "We can wait to go on our honeymoon then."
They were all surprised to a certain degree as to how calmly Tyler took the news, especially Kevin. He said, "You don't mind that it's so close to our wedding?"
"Yes, but Lou can't hurt us, 'Boo'. He's done all he can do and we won! We're together."
Kevin leaned to Tyler and gave her a kiss. "I'm proud of you, baby."
The couple was quiet again and Tyler rested her head on Kevin's shoulder. She was extremely quiet and fell asleep easily.
The flight to Florida was smooth and when they landed, Sonja, Kryss, Lex, and Fiona were there waiting for the guys. AJ, Brian, Nick, and Howie greeted each of them with hugs and kisses.
Kevin didn't want to wake Tyler so he carefully picked her up and carried her to his truck which management had gotten to the airport for him. 'Bull' and Carlos helped him by carrying their bags and unlocking the truck for him.
Howie and Kryss came over as Kevin went around the truck to his side. Howie asked, "What time is Ty's appointment tomorrow?"
"I don't remember. I'll get her to call you in the morning."
"Thanks. I'll see you then."
Tyler slept the entire way to Kevin's house and when they got there, Kevin carried her in.
As he set her down on his bed, she woke up. "Mmmm, where are we, 'Boo'?"
"My place."
"How did I get off the plane?"
"I carried you."
"I must have been tired."
Kevin said, "You were. I'm going to get the bags out of the truck."
As Kevin started out, Brian and Sonja came in and the phone rang. "Damn! We just walked in the door!" said Kevin.
Tyler laughed and said, "Go on. I'll get it."
Kevin kissed her and left.
Tyler answered the phone, "Hello."
"Ty! Did I wake you?"
"Nope! I was already awake. What's up, 'D'?"
"I was just calling Kevin to tell him that your appointment is at 11 tomorrow morning."
"How did you know?"
"There was a message on my machine when we got here."
"Thanks, Howie. I'll see you in the morning."
Tyler hung up and decided to go down to the kitchen. Despite the late hour, Tyler was hungry. She changed into a T-shirt and then headed to the kitchen. She passed Kevin in the hall.
"Where are you going, baby?"
"To get something to eat. I'll be back in a minute."
Tyler went to the kitchen and found some pickles in the refrigerator. Then she got the ice cream out of the refrigerator.
"Gee, I'm acting just like a pregnant woman!" thought Tyler.
When she had a bowl of ice cream, Tyler went back to Kevin's room where he was just getting ready to get into bed.
"What 'cha got, baby?"
"A pickle and ice cream."
Kevin made a face, "YUCK!! That's gross."
Tyler finished the pickle and plopped down on the bed. "Why's it gross? You like pickles, don't you?"
"Yeah, but not with my ice cream. This should prove to be an interesting pregnancy."
"You'll be gone for the majority of it!"
Kevin looked hurt by that and he said, "I don't like the fact that you're going to be here...alone."
"I won't be alone, 'Boo'. Sonja, Kryss, Lex, and Fiona will be here and Mami and Pops aren't that far away."
Kevin looked at her and pouted, "That's NOT what I meant."
Tyler laughed, "I know what you meant, 'Boo'. All you have to do is say the word and I'll stay with you."
"I don't know what I want, Ty. I want you with me because I can't stand the thought of being away from you, especially being pregnant but I can't ask you to give up your career. It's not fair."
"I'm not sure of what I want to do, either," said Tyler. "Here's a thought though. I'm going to stay here to plan the wedding and work some. It's only going to be a little over a month. Let's see how it goes and how we feel about being apart and when you come home from Mexico City, we'll talk more about it."
Kevin took Tyler's bowl of ice cream from her and set it on the table. Then he took her in his arms and lay her back on the pillows.
He kissed her softly. "I'm not sure what I did to get so lucky."
"What about where I'm going to live for now?"
"You can stay here if you want."
"Thank you. I was hoping you'd say that."
"Let's get some sleep, baby. You have a doctor's appointment in the morning and I'm exhausted."
Kevin reached across Tyler to cut the lights off and they snuggled together to go to sleep.
Tyler whispered, "I love you, Kevin Scott Richardson, with all that I am."
