~The Binding~

Chapter 38

Kevin sighed then opened his eyes slowly knowing today was going to be a long day. He studied the half circle swirl pattern on the plastered ceiling from the floor of the living room where he had spent the night with his wife. A smooth path traced each wooden beam in the ceiling forming a frame for pattern. He wondered who had troweled the masterpiece. Had it been his wife or his departed father-in-law? The room was huge and he could only imagine how long it had taken. Whoever had done it knew how to work with plaster.

He rolled on his side knowing that she was no longer with him. The fireplace crackled in the silence of the room. Steve's phone call last night rattled him. Kevin couldn't figure out what Stevie was referring to when he said, 'Nice show and Kevin being in control.' Kevin thought back to his demeanor as they exited the courthouse. He hadn't acted anything other than a little overprotective of his wife. He might have appeared a little surly and pissed off but he was angry over what had taken place with Lenny moments before they had departed. "Asshole," Kevin mumbled.

"Good morning to you too," Bron stared at him as she stood with a towel wrapped around her head.

"Not you," Kevin rolled on his back. "Did you do that?" Kevin pointed to the ceiling.

"Yes." Bron walked back to the bathroom.

He didn't hear the door close so he knew she could still hear him. "I have some stuff to do tonight for Backstreet."

"Whatever. I have to get some writing done. If I have one more person email me and make me feel guilty because I have written a damn thing in months, I'm going to scream."

"You need to find a different creative outlet." Kevin groaned as he pulled himself from the floor and went into the bathroom. He turned the water on and crawled into the shower. The phone call last night was nagging him still. His shower was cut short do to lack of hot water. He grumbled and would tell her about it after he dressed. "Today is only Tuesday. I'm never going to get through the week at this rate." Wrapping his towel around his waist he complained about the lack of light to shave properly. The door was still open when Bron came to him.

"You need an exhaust fan in here Bron." Kevin wiped the steam off the mirror with his hand.

"I don't have time for that crap." Bron dropped her robe and began to dress. "You can clean that mirror when you're done too. I hate this freaking bathroom, I always have."

Kevin's gaze started at her ankles and meandered up her body as she dressed. Past her calves that were more than shapely. Bron definitely had dancer's legs. His stare continued up to her thighs, which were just as nice as the lower half. Beyond the curve of her hips his eyes froze and grew large in the mirror. He dropped his razor in the sink as he stared at her reflection in the mirror. The noise was loud enough to have Bron turn and look.

"What?" she looked at him with a blank stare.

"Uh... Nothin'" he blinked, retrieved his razor and went back to shaving. His gaze locked on her via the mirror. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"If you have to open your eyes that wide to shave; maybe, I'm not the only who needs to wear glasses."

Kevin pushed away from the solid pine vanity with his hands anchored on the object. "The lighting sucks in here. Besides you used all the damn hot water."

"Sorry," Bron apologized and ventured down the hallway that led to the bathroom

"Sorry my ass woman. You've never been sorry." Kevin swished the razor in the sink and bent over to rinse his face off as he spoke to himself.

"Morning Kev!"

Kevin's head slammed into the gooseneck faucet as he jumped from the surprise of Mc being in his bathroom so early in the morning and so loud. He yanked a towel from the holder and scrubbed it down his face. "I'm in no mood. I had to take a cold shower. I nicked myself shaving because you can't see shit in this bathroom-"

"About that call last night." Mc stood in the small space that not only held a shower, vanity, commode, but also a stack washer and dryer and a hamper were crammed into the tight space.

Kevin snapped. "I'm not talking about it now."

Mc's lips pulled into a thin line. "Fine. Then when?"

"Tonight. I've already told her I have Backstreet business to take care of." Kevin reached for the garments that hung off the back of the door.

"Oh, would that business be Nick's solo album?"

Kevin's jaw tightened. "I don't know who told you. That news will never go beyond this bathroom. Nobody knows about it but Nick and me. Not even Suzie and Bron."

"I know. Nick really does have a big mouth when he's loaded off his ass."

Kevin stood holding his clothes waiting for Mc to depart the bathroom. "He's scared shitless over the backlash on this one. Especially from those two."

Mc shrugged and left. Kevin dropped his towel and the door swung open. Kevin scrambled to cover himself.

"It's just me." Bron laughed. "I wanted to apologize for using all the hot water."

"Can I just get dressed please?" Kevin moaned.

"Okay," Bron sighed.

By the time Kevin was able to lumber to the kitchen, a fresh pot of coffee was ready and waiting for him. Bron was still walking around in her bare feet and no suit jacket on. Bron turned and Kevin's stare couldn't help but follow. He shook it off and then reached for his cup.

"Do you know where I left my shoes?" Bron asked as she pulled on the roller blind in the dining room."

"Bathroom. I tripped over them like I do all your shoes." Kevin let her know he was displeased with her.

Mc laughed when he heard Bron laughing. "Oh she's getting on your nerves already this morning, isn't she?"

"Yes, along with a few other things." Kevin poured his coffee. Taking two sips he snapped his watch on his wrist after setting his cup down. Kevin glanced at the time and started searching the countertop for the portable phone. Picking up his cup he gave up until it actually rang, which it did promptly at 7:30. Bron almost mowed over him as she slid across the room in her pantyhose and grabbed the phone as it rested next to the toaster.

"She's damn quick when she wants to be." Mc commented as he watched her get ready for court.

Kevin laughed as she turned around. He pointed to Bron's backside and Mc's eyes followed the trail. Mc obviously wasn't laughing openly but his entire body was shaking.

Kevin winked at him. Then he opened the drawer he was standing next to. He pulled out two rubber bands and a safety pin. He placed them inside his suit coat pocket.

Mc tapped Kevin's chest and grinned. "Always have to be the hero."

Kevin raised his finger to his mouth, "Ssshh." Kevin moved to the table after he finished his first cup of coffee and poured a second. He was waiting for his turn to talk to his family.

Mc joined him at the table with a cup of coffee, "Listen."

"Later," Kevin's head titled towards the French doors just as Bron came back through. She placed her leg on the window seat with her back to him. She hiked up her skirt and began to tug the pantyhose up her leg. "These damn things shrunk in the washer. Baby, you're going to have to talk to Daddy now. I've got to fix these. We have to leave soon and I can't be late."

Bron held the phone out. Mc reached behind him and grabbed the phone. He passed the phone to Kevin.

"Morning Miss Kaylin." Kevin beamed as he listened to her chatter. Kevin watched Bron as Kaylin babbled at him. Bron would run back and forth between rooms. She grabbed her toast, took a bite, and then took off again. Kevin's head turned and he pulled the phone away from his face and frowned. He put cradle back to his ear as he stood up. He flipped up his collar with one hand and strung his tie around the collar. "Let me talk to him."

Mc's head twisted to the side.

Kevin's head shook back and forth letting him know there wasn't a problem with Andrew. He automatically knew Mc had thought so by his reaction plus he had said 'him'. Kevin decided to make it clear for Mc. "Nicky, what's the matter man?"

Kevin's brows furrowed once he heard Nick whimper. "Dude, are you alright?"

"It hurts," Nick wheezed in his ear.

"What hurts?" Kevin was still confused.

Bron came back and looked at him. She reached for the phone on the wall until Kevin waved her off. "No," Kevin spoke.

Bron looked at Mc. "Who is he talking to? He's wearing his constipated face."

Kevin's frown grew as Mc laughed. "It's Nick," Mc offered.

"Oh." Bron walked away again.

Mc looked confused and Kevin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nick, I don't understand."

A laugh ripped from Kevin that nearly shook the house. "Ah, you touched and you didn't ask first." Kevin wiped a tear from his eyes. "Dude, you can't do that!"

"Kevin, I swear, I think she broke my rib. I don't understand what the fuck is wrong with her." Kevin listened to Nick whine.

"Little man, welcome to pregnancy. So the Titty Fairy has arrived." Kevin repeated loud enough for Mc to hear. Mc began to laugh along with him. "As far as understanding what is wrong with her, don't even try. There is no understanding any of this."

"Yeah but," came back to Kevin's ear.

"There are no buts Nick, nor are there any butts with two t's unless you are asked. When you are asked you better deliver."

"What? I don't get any of this shit." Nick groaned.

Kevin could hear Nick's breath hitch. The kid was truly hurting. "Look I can't get into this now. I will enlighten you enough to get you through the day. We'll talk tonight."

"Yeah, but the Titty Fairy has me really confused."

Kevin knew he had heard the sentence, but it sounded so funny coming from Nick. He snickered. "I'll boil it down for you Nicky. The Titty Fairy is God's way of getting even with us men. She shows up, endows our women. The ones that were well-endowed to begin with like your woman and my woman, well they just get bigger."

"No shit," Nick spit into the phone.

"But there's a catch." Kevin could hardly keep a straight face imagining what was going on in his home back in Kentucky.

"And that is?" Nick whispered.

Kevin assumed Nick's hands must have roamed without an invitation or Nick wouldn't be in pain. He figured Suzie and Bron were very close on their due dates. Bron was 12 weeks now and the sensitivity had started early on with Bron. "You can look at them all you want but you can't touch them unless you're asked too. Then you might be told to stop mid-feel and you have to stop. It sucks. You'll learn to deal with it. I gotta go, buh-bye." Kevin laughed as he hung up the phone.

Kevin watched Mc chuckle as hard as he was. Kevin snapped his collar down after tying his tie. Bron came up to him and shot him a look similar to a viper before it sunk its fangs into you. Bron had her fingers wrapped around his tie, right by his throat. Kevin wasn't to sure what she had in mind, but with the face she was wearing, it wasn't a good position to be in. "Stop mid-feel, since when? You should live by your own words Richardson."

"He'll learn his way through this the same way I did." Kevin pulled her hands away from his throat. He saw her grab her coat and head out the front door with Mc.

Kevin was still laughing as he locked the front door. "Trial and Error is how the boy will learn. The same way I did." Bron sat in the car shooting him shitty looks. Climbing into the passenger side of the truck Kevin and Mc traded smirks.

"You're both assholes." Bron jammed herself back in the seat.

Kevin's cell rang. He halted his grin recognizing the telephone number. He flipped it open to hear Nick's all too familiar whiney voice again. "I can't tell you now buddy. I don't have time. I need at least an hour to cover the basic fairies and you need a big pad of paper and pen. You'll be needin' to take notes on this one." The phone was tore from his grasp.

"How about I explain it to you Blonde Boy Wonder. My chest freaking hurts all the time. It's not fun. You can't control your emotions or your hormones. You forget what the hell you are doing and why. Things that you loved want to make you puke. Things you hated all of sudden you crave. One minute you want to screw your man senseless and the next you want to castrate the bastard for knocking you up to begin with." Bron smacked the phone shut and threw it at the dashboard.

"You do have insurance on that, don't you?" Mc turned to Kevin and tried not to snicker. Kevin's smile cracked and he laughed obnoxiously as he retrieved his cell phone from the floor. Mc joined in.

"Assholes," Bron fumed in the backseat.

Kevin turned and looked out the window, he blew out a breath. "Meet fairy number two Nick, the Bitch Fairy." Kevin bemoaned to the window glass, "And it's only Tuesday."

They pulled up to a mob scene at the courthouse. They sat waiting for the security detail. As time passed, it was obvious that the security detail wasn't going to show up.

Kevin moved out of the truck. He opened the backdoor and offered his hand. He wasn't watching Bron he was watching the mob of people that were blocking the sidewalk and crowding the steps. Bron latched on to his hand. Kevin snugged her up to his body. He began to march up the sidewalk with his wife ensconced under his arm. His other arm extended out to clear the way as they walked. The media was really pressing in on them and this was only the, 'Morning Death Walk,' as Bron referred to it. "Dammit, it's only Tuesday," he growled under his breath. He tried to forge a path through the relentless crowd. They weren't giving in inch. He heard Mc yelling for everyone to back up.

Kevin shook his head and continued to walk with his arm around Bron and his body in front of her. "Hang on darlin', we're almost there."

"Hold up Kevin!" a voice from the crowd shouted. He swung his head in the direction of the noise. I group of fans wearing BSB shirts stared back at him. Then they rushed towards him. He had enough time to pull Bron in back of him. He stopped and looked since the crush had stopped. He smiled and yelled "Thanks."

"What the hell was that?" Bron gawked back at the glass doors from which they had just walked through freely.

Kevin saw Mc squeeze by the girls but nobody else got through.

Bron's eyes reflected the same shock as her voice did. "Kevin. Those are fans. They're holding the crowd back."

"Yes they are darlin'. They did that for us and I'll thank them during lunch if they're still here. I'll come out and sign and Mc can sit with you." Kevin waited anxiously for Mc to get inside.

"Jesus, Kevin you could hire a couple of those chicks for security." Mc tried to straighten the wrinkles out of the sleeves of his suit as he ran through the revolving door.

"Probably. They're good, they're damn good." Kevin waved to the girls and flashed them a peace sign.

"Stop that shit, you're not twelve." Bron frowned at him.

"They love it. If they can hold a crowd that size back, I'm cool with it. In the mean time I'm going to find out where the hell our security detail went too because they sure as hell weren't out there. Something isn't right here." Mc commented and then strolled off to find Webster.

Bron and Kevin headed up the hall to the elevator. The press was held back at the elevator and the banister from going upstairs. Bron was relieved to be in the elevator. "It's going to be a long day."

"It's going to be a long week." Kevin stepped out of the elevator first and looked down the hall. He held his hand out to his wife. Bron's hand went to his and he wrapped his fingers around hers. Kevin didn't feel like waiting in the anteroom today. He went directly into the courtroom with Bron in tow and they sat together in the seats that Kevin and Mc had been assigned.

"Do you know why security wasn't out there?" Bron questioned him as she stared at the floor.

"No, but Mc is taking care of it. If worst comes to worst and they won't provide any, then we'll call Billy and set something up."

"Okay," Bron shrugged out of her winter coat. "Damn, this skirt is tight. I hope I can sit in this all day."

Kevin reached into to his pocket. He fished his treasures out that he placed in his pocket before they left the house. "Turn around Witch there's something on the back of your skirt."

"Crap." Bron turned for him.

Kevin was so fast he doubted she even had time to register what he had done by the time he had hooked the rubber band around the button and the safety pin into the button hole.

"What are you doing?" Bron tried to turn as he tried to fasten the pin.

"You move and you're going to get stabbed." Kevin closed the pin. He ran his hand down the zipper and then copped a feel by patting her ass. "All fixed baby, but keep your coat on.

"What the hell did you do?" Bron's head craned around as she tried to see the back of her skirt.

"Fixed your skirt for you. Now you can breathe." Kevin's dimple showed.

"This can't be happening already." Bron sat with thud in the chair.

"I think it is baby. You are starting to show." Kevin tried real hard not to smile. Well, maybe not hard enough.

Bron let out a growl as the galley began to fill with people. Court was being called into session.

Mc walked to his seat. He sat next to Kevin. "They had an emergency this morning."

"Sure they did." Kevin pointed to the Bron's backside. One safety pin and two rubber bands were doing their job.

Mc started to snickered. He leaned forward and whispered something in Bron's ear that Kevin couldn't hear.

Bron's entire body turned in her seat. "I don't like either one of you right now."

"I didn't get you like this, he did." Mc pointed to Kevin.

"Thanks a lot. It's only Tuesday, I really need this." Kevin closed his eyes as he stood when the judge was announced.

"You always have your fairy chat later to look forward to," Mc whispered.

A chuckle escaped Kevin at the wrong time. He focused on the judge since the judge was now frowning at him. Kevin thought for sure the judge hated him by now. He always seemed to be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"Court is in session." The bailiff barked. The sound of a gavel echoed in the room filled with wood and marble.

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