Chapter 1
Time, look where we are and what we've
been through
Time, sharing our dreams
Time, goes on and on everyday, baby
Time is what it is
Come what may
Brian frowned down at his cell phone and hit a button to delete
the latest voicemail. Leaning his
forehead against the balcony of his hotel room window, he looked out at the
city of St. Louis. He was on tour for
his first solo album, and, once this tour ended, he would have two weeks of
time with Sienna and their children before heading out on the tour for the
Backstreet Boys’ sixth album. That album
had come out mid-January, and Brian’s tour had begun in the first week of
February. He had had to push it back
from December to February because of Luke’s impending birth. Regardless, he had kept the tour short—only
two months.
He watched as late February rains poured water down, blurring his
view of the city and making his worried thoughts darker. He’d been receiving strange voicemail
messages since the middle of January.
The first message had lasted thirty seconds, and the caller had told
Brian that he would lose everything he had sooner than he could ever know. Brian had thought it a joke at first, but, as
the next several messages came, he had gone to the police with it. The messages hadn’t been long enough for the
police to properly trace the origin, and they had told Brian to get a new
number. He had and had explained to
Sienna that a fan had gotten hold of his number, which was why he was changing
the number. He didn’t tell her that he
no longer felt comfortable with her and the babies by themselves in their home
outside of Lexington.
Brian shook his head, reminding himself that he had called Howie
to stop by the house every so often without alerting Sienna as to the why of
his visit. He didn’t actually think
anything was going to go wrong because he had taken every security measure
possible, installing a security system on the gates at the front and back of
the fifty-acre property. Only he and
Sienna knew the codes for the gates, and Brian knew he should feel safe. Unfortunately, the caller had figured out his
new number and had called him again.
“Well,” Brian said to himself, “I’ve got someone going by to check
on them, and there’s no way anyone can get over the gates unless they have a
tactical SWAT team with them. So they’ve
got to be okay,” he reassured himself.
At the knock on the door, he turned and opened it for his personal
assistant, Holly Jansen. She came in
carrying a clipboard and looked tidy and efficient in her neat business
suit. Brian had teased her about being
the most uptight, twenty-seven year old assistant to a member of the music
industry, and she had calmly told him that he wasn’t paying her to be loose and
irresponsible. Realizing that he was
fighting a losing battle, Brian had backed off and left her alone. He knew her well enough, though, to know that
she did loosen up sometimes—if you poured two bottles of beer into her, she was
gone.
Smiling to himself at the memory of a time he had done just that,
he looked over at her. “So, what’s next,
Holly?”
She tapped her pen on her notebook and looked up at him through
thick-rimmed glasses. “Let’s see. Today is February sixteenth, and you’ve got a
radio show at 99.7 WRIP in two hours.
After that, sound check is at three and the show is at seven. In between there, we’ll find time to get you
something to eat and give a short interview to a reporter from the St. Louis
Tribune. Got all that?” She watched him
with amused, gray eyes.
Brian furrowed his brow.
“Um, there’s a radio show next, then food, then an interview, then more
food, sound check, and then sleep?” he ticked off on his fingers and grinned at
the look on her face. “Just
kidding. I know what’s going down, Holly. Relax a little. Have I ever screwed up before?”
“No,” she sighed. “No, you
haven’t. And, I promise I’ll try to
relax, but you know it’s not my style.”
Brian grinned. “We could
always get you drunk again. Then again,
maybe not,” he added quickly, seeing the murderous look on her face. “Seriously, Holly, you’re one of the best
assistants I’ve ever had. Thanks for
keeping me on track always.”
She shook her head and smiled a little. “Oh, you,” she rolled her eyes, then looked
at him seriously again. “Have you gotten
any more calls, Brian?”
Not bothering to pretend he didn’t know what she was talking
about, he looked out the window again.
“I don’t know how the guy does it.
I mean, I changed my number, and he still found out. I’m beginning to wonder if this guy is really
joking or not. What if something happens
to my family?”
Holly stood and placed her hand on his shoulder. “They’re safe, Brian. You’ve got an incredible security system, and
nobody can get through it. Besides, you
could be in danger, too. What if he’s
really out to get you? Did you ever think of that?”
Brian shrugged. “It doesn’t
matter. I’ve got bodyguards, but my
family doesn’t. If I got a bunch of
guards for them and nothing happened, Sienna would rag on me about it from now
until I die.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
Brian ran a hand over his face and turned to her. “I’m going to pretend that nothing’s wrong
and do what comes next on my schedule.
I’ll make sure Howie, Harry, and Shane drop by the house and the shop
discreetly everyday. Other than that, I
don’t really know what else I can do but place my trust in God, right?”
Holly nodded. “I don’t
think there’s anything else you can do without solid proof that somebody out
there is going to hurt you. The police
sure as heck won’t believe it,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Brian sighed. Then he brightened up. “Anyway, I don’t think there’s anything wrong
right now. So, let’s get some coffee and
head over to that radio station. Is
Jimmy still outside my door?” he asked, referring to his bodyguard. At her nod, he grinned. “Great.
Let’s go, then!”
***
He sat in his large desk in the office he had been promoted to and
gazed out at the city that spread out before him. The sun shed its rays on his windows and
turned the windows of the opposite buildings into giant mirrors. The view had been one of his favorite parts
of the office he now sat in. He’d worked
his way up to this point, he knew. And
he damn well deserved it. He had gotten
everything he had ever wished for, he mused.
Well, except for one thing.
Swiveling his chair back to face the computer on his desk, he hit
three keys and a new screen popped up, illuminating Brian Thomas Littrell’s
face on it. Alongside the name were the
home address, home phone number, cell phone number, and the name of the
security company that had installed the property’s system. Smiling to himself, he traced the name of the
company he worked for at the top of a piece of his stationary and glanced over
at the identical name on the screen.
It had been ridiculously easy, he thought, convincing Brian that
Cartrech Systems had top of the line security that ensured unauthorized entry
was impossible. Of course, the system
was the top of the line, no doubt, but that was just a technicality. He laughed to himself and glanced at his
calendar. Just a few more days, he
mused. Just a few more days and the high
and mighty Brian Littrell would be begging on his knees for his world back.
***
Sienna hurried behind the counter and answered the phone. “Hello?” she said, glancing around to make
sure that her customers didn’t need anything.
“Sienna! It’s Howie,” a breathless-sounding Howie greeted her on
the other end.
Sienna sat on the stool behind the register. “Hey, Howie, what’s going on?”
“Liv’s in labor! We’re on our way to the hospital, but we wanted
to tell you,” Howie told her. He sounded
nervous and excited. Sienna could hear
Liv’s moans of pain in the background and Howie trying to soothe her. “Sienna?” Howie came back on the line. “Listen, we just wanted to let you know, but
we’re almost at the hospital, so I’ve gotta go.
I’ll let you know what happens,” he added and hung up.
Sienna sat back and grinned excitedly. Marlena, who had been sweeping up the dirt
from a broken pot, raised a brow questioningly.
“What’s going on, Si?”
Sienna smiled. “Livvy went
into labor. That was Howie. He’s taking her to the hospital, right now!”
she added, excited.
“Then, what are you doing here?” Marlena wondered. “Shouldn’t you be at the hospital with your
best friend or at least waiting there to find out how she is?”
Sienna frowned. “I can’t
just leave the shop on your shoulders again.
It’s fine; I’ll just go after six.
That’s only a couple hours,” she added, looking at her watch.
Marlena shook her head.
“No, really, Si. Just go and tell
Liv I said good luck and I hope all goes well.
I can take care of stuff here.
It’s a Tuesday, in the middle of March, St. Patrick’s Day was yesterday,
so there is no sale or anything. The
place is not going to be busy in the next three hours, so just go.”
Sienna slid off the stool.
“Okay, okay! I can take the hint.
You just don’t want me here, do you?” She tried to sound hurt.
“Yup! I want you gone.
Damn! You figured out my master plan,” Marlena told her.
Grabbing her coat off a rack in the back, Sienna headed towards
the door. “You know,” she called over
her shoulder, “you should come up with more subtle master plans.” As the door
shut behind her, she could hear Marlena’s laughter and realized it was the
first time she’d heard the other woman laugh in months. Sighing and thinking that was a problem for
another day, she climbed into her car and headed towards the hospital.
***
Several hours later, Sienna paced the waiting room in the maternity
ward of St. Joseph’s Hospital. She had
called Shane to let him know what was going on and that he would need to watch
the twins and Luke until she could pick them up. He had told her not to worry, he had
everything under control. Knowing he probably
did because Shane had incredible luck with babies, Sienna had hung up and begun
pacing the waiting room. They had taken
Liv into the labor room three hours ago, and Sienna wondered if something was
wrong with the baby. Remembering her own
hysterectomy, she prayed that all was well.
Suddenly, Howie burst into the waiting room. “Sienna!” he called, excitedly. “I’m a dad and you’re an aunt!” He hugged her
enthusiastically. “I gotta call my
family,” he added and went to hurry out of the room.
“Howie! Wait!” Sienna stopped him.
“How’s the baby? Liv? What is the baby? A boy or a girl? What’s its
name?”
Howie grinned. “It’s a boy!
Liv and the baby are fine, and we’re naming him Ryan Howard Dorough. Liv wanted the middle name,” he explained.
Sienna hugged him again.
“Congratulations! Let me know when I can go in to see the two of
them. Go call your family,” she nudged
him out into the hallway. “I’ll call
Brian and the other guys.”
“Thanks, Si,” Howie beamed and hurried off.
***
“He’s so handsome,” Sienna exclaimed as she peeked at the bundle
Liv held in her arms. “So, we both had
sons within months of each other, huh?” she smiled at Liv.
“Yeah, well, I guess we’re always going to be doing things around
the same time for the rest of our lives, huh?” Liv grinned up at her and
brushed the raven hair that stuck to her forehead. “Of course, you did have two daughters and a
son before I had my kid, but that’s just technicalities, right?”
“Absolutely,” Sienna grinned.
“The guys all said congratulations and way to go. Kevin thinks that Ryan and Sean are going to
be the best of friends, too,” she added, thinking of Kevin and Kristin’s
six-month-old son.
Liv grinned down at the sleeping baby she held. He had thick, dark hair and his eyes, when he
opened them, were a deep green. Though
he had Liv’s coloring, his facial structure was all Howie. “I think they’re all going to be friends and
we’re going to have little carpools and slumber parties. Of course, it’s possible now that Kevin and
Kristin have moved back to Lexington, you know,” she added, referring to the
move Kevin and Kristin had made into a home they’d fell in love with not three
miles away from Brian and Sienna’s. Liv
and Howie were on the opposite side of the city, a good thirty-minute drive
away.
“Yeah,” Sienna mused as she stroked a finger gently down the
baby’s cheek. “You’re a mom, Livvy. We’re both mothers. When did this happen? How did this all happen
so fast?” she wondered. “Yesterday, we
were arguing over clothes and boys and now we have husbands and children. It’s crazy how fast life goes, huh?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Liv told her. “Speaking of children, shouldn’t you go and
take care of your own? I mean, I know
Shane is perfectly capable of taking care of them, but they’re probably waiting
for you, now.”
Sienna stood. “Yeah, I’m
going to get going. I just wanted to see
you. Congratulations, again, Livvy,” she
murmured, giving Liv a hug. “I’ll come
by your house the day after tomorrow and help you settle in and all.” Then she left.
Lyrics
from “Time” Backstreet Boys
***
