Chapter 26
Kevin drove to Disneyworld so Tyler could check in on what had been going on. Sonja had been handling everything for her for the last month. The first thing Tyler did was call Tiffany’s mother and arranged to pick Tiffany up in the morning. Then she went to talk to Mr. Burton.
Kevin and Tyler told him about the wedding and all the other goings on of the last month.
"Mr. Burton, I’m not sure what I’m going to do after the wedding. Kevin and I have talked about it but there’s so much to consider."
"You do what you think is best Tyler. I certainly will hate losing you though if that’s what you decide to do."
"Until the wedding, I plan to work. Kevin and I are going to use the time to see if we really want to be apart that much with him always on the road. I also have the wedding to plan. I’ll do that on my days off or over the phone."
"That’s fine," said Mr. Burton. "I must say, you haven’t looked this happy in quite some time."
Tyler squeezed Kevin’s hand and said, "I haven’t been this happy in a while. Before I forget. I’ve arranged for a little girl that I met at my doctor’s office to spend the day in the park with Kevin and the guys. She was abused by her father and her mother can’t afford to bring her to the park."
"You do whatever is necessary to make sure she enjoys her day then."
"Thank you. We need to get going. Kevin’s mother is here visiting and I haven’t seen my family in a month."
"Congratulations to both of you. You make a very handsome couple and I know you’ll be very happy together," said Mr. Burton as he shook Kevin’s hand.
Kevin and Tyler went to Tyler’s office and found Howie talking to Sonja. They talked for a little while and then headed home.
Kevin said, "Call Paula and Hoke and see if they’ve had lunch."
"And if they haven’t?" asked Tyler.
"We’ll take them out to eat."
"What about your mother?"
Howie said, "I’ll call our parents and you call Ann."
"Where are we going?" asked Tyler.
Kevin said, "’Luigi’s will be fine."
Howie and Tyler made the calls and everyone agreed that lunch would be nice. Hoke and Paula would meet them there and Kevin headed to his house to get his mother.
At the house, Howie got his car and went to get Kryss before joining Tyler and Kevin.
On the ride to the restaurant, Kevin asked, "How did Uncle Harold take the news about Tyler being pregnant?"
"Once I explained the situation, he was very understanding."
Tyler put her head on Kevin’s shoulder. "I just hope the fans are as understanding."
"They will be, baby," said Kevin as he put his hand on Tyler’s knee.
At the restaurant, Hoke and Paula were waiting for Kevin, Tyler, and Ann. Tyler gave them a hug first followed by Kevin.
"Kevin, thank you so much for taking care of Tyler," said Paula gratefully. "I don’t understand how she always manages to find trouble."
Kevin laughed, "I hope you don’t consider me trouble."
Tyler teased, "The biggest trouble I’ve managed to find."
"Oh, is that so?" said Kevin as he hugged her. "Well, we’ll just have to see about that."
Everyone loved seeing Tyler smiling and laughing again and were grateful.
Howie and Kryss joined them and they all went in to be seated. Tyler had to go to the bathroom first so while she was gone, Howie said, "Dad, would you please talk to Tyler about letting Joey be involved with the baby. Kevin and I have both talked about it and we don’t think it’s such a good idea. Lance even said today that he doesn’t think Joey’s going to do the right thing."
Hoke asked, "Why don’t you two talk to her?"
Kevin shook his head. "She’s not going to listen to us."
They saw Tyler coming and Hoke said, "I’ll try."
Tyler sat down and Hoke asked her about her doctor’s appointment. Tyler told them what the doctor had said and about Joey being there.
Hoke said, "Tyler, I know you’re only doing what you think is right by involving Joey but you really should reconsider."
"Why?" asked Tyler defensively. She cut her eyes to Howie who wouldn’t look at her.
"Honey, when you dated him in high school, he treated you really bad trying to control you and that’s what he did this time."
"But Pops, he was really sweet today, and he acted like he was genuinely sorry for hurting me."
"Maybe he was, but it may also have been a show. You did have Kevin and Howie with you and wasn’t Lance with him?"
Tyler knew that Kevin or Howie had said something to him and she said, "Yeah, Lance was there."
"You’ve also had him arrested because of the restraining order. He wasn’t going to take any chances."
Tyler looked at Kryss who seemed to be the only one of the three who would look at her. She asked, "What’s your take on this? I’ve already heard Kevin and Howie’s opinion."
Kryss shook her head. "It’s like a bad horror movie where you know the people shouldn’t go into the woods because you know what’s going to happen but they still go and you’re screaming at the screen for them to stop! Tyler, Joey isn’t concerned about your feelings. He never has been. He wants you because you’re with the guys. He’s out to make a statement."
Tyler felt like she’d been ambushed and looked up at Kevin with tears in her eyes. "Take me home."
"Why?"
Hoke said, "Tyler..."
Before he could get anything out, Tyler ran out of the restaurant crying.
Kevin looked at Howie in desperation and Howie said, "I’ll go get her. It’s my fault."
Paula said, "Let me go talk to her."
When Paula was gone, Ann said, "Boys, it’s not your fault. I think Tyler’s hormones because of the pregnancy are making her overreact. I expect she agrees with you."
Howie said, "She always does get more upset when she knows the other person is right."
Kevin looked out at Tyler talking to Paula and decided that he was going to go out there too.
Ann asked, "Son, do you really think you should go out there right now?"
"I’m going to her, Mom."
Kevin went out to Tyler and Paula and they all saw Tyler go into his arms immediately. He ran his hands through her hair as he held her.
Paula rubbed her back and said softly to Kevin, "She’s okay. I’m going back to the table."
"Thanks, Paula."
Paula left the two and Tyler said, "I guess that was really stupid to react like that."
"No, you’re just really emotional, baby."
Tyler wiped the tears and laughed, "Yeah, that’s what Mami said too."
"Baby, you’re a very trusting person but sometimes that’s not good. You really need to see Joey for the way he really is. I don’t want to see you get hurt by him again because then I’m going to have to hurt him."
Tyler smiled, "My knight in shining armor."
"Rescuing his beautiful princess. Come on. Let’s go tell them about the wedding."
Tyler gave Kevin a kiss. "Thank you."
Tyler and Kevin rejoined the others, ordered lunch, and then they told the group about their wedding plans. Ann offered to help Tyler by handling everything in Kentucky so she wouldn’t have to fly back and forth so much. She also gave Tyler a list of people to invite for Kevin’s side of the family and Paula had one for Tyler’s side. They also discussed ordering the invitations.
"We could go order them this afternoon," said Paula.
"Will there be enough time to get them out?" asked Tyler.
"Sure, as long as you put a rush on the order. You’ll need two sets, one for the ceremony and one for the reception," said Ann.
Kevin said, "We’ll go after lunch then."
Ann said, "There’s one last detail. Son, please tell me that you’re going to cut your hair for the wedding?"
Tyler laughed, "No way!! I love it just like it is."
Ann cringed and Kevin said, "My lady has spoken, Mom."
Paula said, "Ann, I completely understand where you’re coming from."
Kryss said, "I think the guys’ long hair looks really good on them."
"You two ladies are also VERY prejudice," said Hoke. "What are you going to do when your sons come in with hair that long?"
Tyler said, "As long as they are leading the clean cut life the guys are, I’m not going to fight that battle. You know, the worst vice any of them have is AJ’s drinking and he controls that so that it doesn’t affect his career. He has never let the fans see him drunk."
"Well, I guess we do have A LOT to be grateful for, " said Ann. "Tyler, I want to welcome you to our family now. You have certainly made Kevin extremely happy."
Tyler looked into Kevin’s eyes and said, "No more so than he’s made me."
Over dessert, Kevin and Tyler told everyone about Lou’s trial and they planned to go on their honeymoon as soon as the trial was over. They asked about the honeymoon but Kevin wouldn’t tell any details, just that he was going to surprise Tyler.
After lunch, Kevin, Tyler, and Ann went to order the invitations and then back to Kevin’s house. Kevin and Tyler had decided that she would move in with him since she had all of her stuff with them now anyway and he would be gone until the wedding any way.
That night, Tyler and Kevin went to Tabu to meet the others. When they pulled into the parking lot, Tyler thought she saw Joey’s car but she wasn’t sure. They went in and Tyler had to go to the restroom, something she was doing quite frequently lately, and Kevin said he’d go on to the table.
As Tyler was walking to the restrooms, Joey stepped out of the shadows and grabbed Tyler by the arm.
