Learning to Love again.
By Vicki © 2003


He stood silently looking down at the headstone. A beautiful marble angel standing above it with its hands raised to the sky a dove resting on its open hand.
~~~~ Heaven gained two more angels.~~~~~
Elizabeth Anna Richardson born Nov 10 1974 died Nov 27 1999. Scott Allen Richardson. Born Oct 25 1994 died Nov 27 1999.
Loving wife, daughter and friend who will sorely be missed. And a son that didn’t get the chance to live.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He stood there it had been 4 years since the death of his family. He blamed himself for what had happened. She had been driving from Kentucky to meet him at a concert in Michigan. The weather had shifted and was making travel almost impossible. But she had insisted that she needed to be with him and driving would make the trip more fun for their young son. He could remember that day clearly as if it had happened just then.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*** Flash Back 1999***

“ Hi baby.” Kevin said hearing his wife answer the phone.
“ Hi Kevin.” Elizabeth giggled as she heard her son squeel daddy at the top of his lungs.
“ When are you coming?” Kevin asked still very unsure if his wife should be visit especially in this weather.
“ We are leaving this after noon. We should be there by Thanksgiving.” Elizabeth said. She had already packed the car and was ready to go she just wanted to let him know she was leaving.
“ Alright please be careful.” Kevin said hoping she would just change her mind.
“ I will. I love you Kevin.”
“ I love you too see you soon.” Kevin said hanging up the phone. He looked at his friends and sighed.
“ She’s due in by Thanksgiving. I hate her traveling in this weather.”
“ We know Kev, but the planes are grounded so we are stuck here, at least she’s able to get here.”
“ Yeah true. Ok come on guys we have a sound check to do and then a show.” Howie said leading everyone down the hall towards the bus.


Kevin paced the hotel room worriedly as he looked at the clock. He had expected Elizabeth over an hour ago and he wondered what was keeping her.
“ Still not here?” Brian said coming into the room.
“ No and I’m worried.” Kevin said just as his phone rang. Racing to find it he answered it quickly.
“ Hello? Beth?” Kevin said in a rush.
“ Mr. Kevin Richardson?”
“ This is he. How did you get this number?”
“ This is Dr Parris at Detroit General Hospital. We need you to come down here please?”
“ What is in regards to?”
“ We need to see you right away.” He said waiting for Kevin’s answer.
“ We will be right there.” Kevin said hanging up the phone and looking at his cousin. Brian nodded and headed out of the room to get the others together. Once they where ready they took and drove to the hospital to find out what was so urgent.
“ I am Kevin Richardson. Dr Parris called me saying it was urgent for me to come here.” Kevin said looking at the nurse.
“ I’ll get him for you please have a seat.” She said pointing to the chairs behind the boys. Kevin sat down and rubbed his hands together wondering what was going on.
“ Mr. Richardson?”
“ Yes.” Kevin said standing to greet the doctor.
“ Please come with me we need to speak privately.” The doctor said looking at the four other men.
“ What you say can be said in front of them they are my family.” Kevin said looking at the doctor.
“ Mr. Richardson your wife and son where brought in about an hour ago.”
“ Oh my god, are they alright?” Kevin asked looking at the doctor.
“ I am sorry but we lost them both.” The doctor said looking the five stunned men.
“ What?” Kevin asked tears threatened to roll down his cheeks.
“ It seems she had stopped for a traffic light when a large semi skidded across the road and hit her car head on. She was DOA and your son died shortly after being here. It took us some time to find your number to contact you.” The doctor said sadly.
“ Can I see her?” Kevin asked.
“ Sure, come with me.” The doctor led him down the hall and came to a stop in front of a small trama room. Kevin looked into the room and could see Elizabeth’s battered body laying on the table a sheet covering her to her neck.
“ My son?”
“ I’ll leave you with your wife and your son is in there as well.” The doctor said stepping aside to let them all in. Kevin walked into the room and looked to the left to see the small table where his son lay. Both gone, he had lost them both in one instant. He walked over and held onto his wife’s cold hand and began to sob.
“ You promised me we would live together forever.” Kevin cried holding her hand close to his face. Brian placed his hands on Kevin’s shoulders, he turned towards his cousin and began to sob against his chest.


A funeral was held a few days later. Kevin was unconsolable as he stood at the front of the church looking at the two matching caskets. He had their bodies moved back to Kentucky where they could be buried near family. Kevin said his goodbyes and then turned and left the church.

“ Come on Kevin we have to go.” Brian said coming up to his cousin.
“ Yeah I’m coming. Bye baby.” Kevin said touching the headstone and then heading towards the waiting limo. He saw Nick, Howie, AJ and Brian standing there waiting for him.
“ We have a concert in a few hours. Come on let’s get going.” Kevin said getting into the limo. Brian shook his head and climbed in behind his cousin.
“ Kevin it’s been four years, maybe it’s time to move on.”
“ Brian she was the love of my life, she was everything I had ever wanted. I don’t know if I can move on.” Kevin said sadly.
“ Kev, four years is a long time. I think Beth would want you to move on.”
“ Yeah I know but I miss her so much.” Kevin said sadly, new tears threatened to spill over his cheeks. AJ moved forward and hugged his friend.
“ How about we deal with this after the concert tonight?” AJ asked looking at everyone. Kevin nodded and whipped his tears.



Kevin danced across the stage while Brian sang his part of Everyone, he looked out into the audience and a pair of bright green eyes caught his attention. The girls red hair spilled down over her shoulders while she sang along with them. She captured his attention while he danced and sang. Kevin moved with the others under the stage to make a quick change.
“ Kevin what where u staring at?” Nick asked his older friend while he pulled a clean shirt over his head.
“ The most amazing green eyes I’ve ever seen.” Kevin said grabbing his jacket. Kevin popped up on his mark and waited for the next set of music to begin. He felt Howie’s hand on his shoulder.
“ Which one?” Howie asked looking out at the crowd.
“ Second from the left right in front of the stage.” Kevin said pointing out into the darkness. Howie narrowed his eyes and that’s when he saw her. Kevin was right she was an amazing looking woman, she had to stand about Kevin’s height and even he could see her beautiful eyes shinning in the lights of the stage.
“ Randy could you make sure that lovely lady gets a backstage pass.” Howie whispered to the man.
“ Sure thing Howie.” Randy said heading towards the side of the stage. He remembered where Howie had pointed out the young woman.



Kevin walked around the backstage area after the concert, he ran his fingers threw his short hair. Anyone watching him could tell he was nervous and some didn’t understand why. Kevin’s eyes scanned the people walking threw the back and then sighed.
“ Maybe she decided to go home.” Kevin said heading to where the others where waiting for the fans to come so they could do a meet and greet.
“ Didn’t find her Kev?” Brian asked.
“ Nope. Maybe it’s not meant to be. Well we have a meet and greet come on guys.” Kevin said heading out the door.
“ Who’s Kevin talking about?” Nick asked.
“ A beauty he saw earlier in the audience, she caught his attention with her beautiful eyes and hair.” Howie said looking at his young friend.
“ Oh Kevin’s smitten. I didn’t think that was possible.” AJ said looking at his friend. Kevin just turned and looked at him.
They all walked into the large room and the fans screamed. Kevin counted about a hundred people standing in the room waiting for them. He didn’t see his mystery girl so he sat down at the table and grabbed the pen.
They had been signing autographs for over an hour. And Kevin was beginning to wonder if the woman he had seen was nothing more than a figment of his imagination.
“ Hello.” A soft voice said. Kevin looked up and came face to face with his mystery woman.
“ Hi.” Kevin said smiling widely.
“ I’m Angela.” She said smiling at him, her cheeks turning a nice crimson color.
“ Yes you are an angel.” He said to her. Angela smiled widely and giggled.

“ You must be the one that asked for me to come to the back.” She said, Kevin’s eyes seemed to light up and he had just met this lovely woman.
“ Yeah, you seemed to be enjoying the concert so I decided maybe you could come back and meet us.” Kevin said his face turning a crimson color.
“ I did enjoy the concert. I was here with my niece.” Angela said looking at him.
“ Oh I’m sorry did she come back with you?” Kevin asked looking around the room till his eyes came to rest on a young girl that seemed to look like Angela.
“ Yes she did. She’s enjoying her chat with her favorite. Nick.” She said with a smile. Kevin could have drown in her eyes or even her accent he loved it. He had instantly knew she was from another country.
“ Are you visiting here?” He asked feeling embarrassed if she wasn’t.
“ Actually I just moved here from Ireland. My brother finally convinced me to move here. I am Angela McCloud.”
“ Nice name. Very pretty.” Kevin said trying to ease the fear he was feeling. He hadn’t been with anyone since the death of his wife and he wasn’t truly sure if he really should try anything with anyone.
“ My niece tells me you lost your wife four years ago. I am sorry for your loss.” Angela said looking into his green eyes.
“ Thank you. It’s been hard. My son would have been nine this year.” Kevin said a wistful look in his eyes.
“ I had seen pictures of you and your family when I was in Ireland, you seemed to have a beautiful relationship.”
“ My Becky was the light of my life. I was totally devastated when I got the call that she had been killed.”
“ Yeah I read all about that. You poor dear to have to have endured such a loss.” Angela said looking at him. “ I was lucky to have my Billy when I lost Patrick.”
“ You where married?” Kevin asked looking at her strangely.
“ Aye that I was, for five years. My Patrick died from cancer a few years ago.”
“ Who’s Billy?”
“ Oh my son.” Angela said as a young red headed boy trotted over. Kevin could tell the boy couldn’t be much older than what his Scott would have been.
“ A very handsome young man.” Kevin remarked looking at the boy, his own heart tugged at the fact that he was missing his son and wife. “ If you’ll excuse me for a moment. Brian this is Angela and her son Billy. Keep them company for a while. I’ll be right back.”
“ Sure thing Kev.” Brian said motioning for the young woman and her son to have a seat on the couch.

Kevin rushed from the room and stood silently in the hall for several moments before he slid down the wall as soft sobs wracked his frame. AJ had seen his friend hurry from the room and followed him.
“ Kev, hey buddy what’s wrong?” AJ asked sitting down next to him. Kevin just remained with his knees up and his head buried in his legs as he cried. AJ wasn’t really sure what to do for his friend so he rubbed small circles in Kevin’s back. AJ looked up to see Howie exit the room to find out what was going on. He noticed AJ comforting Kevin and he instantly knew what had happened.
“ That woman reminded you of Beth didn’t she?” Howie asked sitting on the other side of his friend.
“ Yeah. The boy with her is her son.” Kevin cried looking up at them, his eyes where full of tears as he looked at his two friends.
“ She’s a beautiful woman. You going to be alright Kev?” AJ asked.

a/n thanks for all the reviews. and the suggestions.


“ I don’t know. I don’t think I can handle this right now.”
“ I’ll tell the guys your not feeling well.” Howie said heading back into the small room. Kevin sat there letting the new tears roll down his cheeks.
“ Come on Kev.” AJ said helping his friend to his feet. Kevin allowed AJ to lead him out to the waiting limo. AJ looked back towards the door and saw Brian, Howie and Nick coming from the building with Angela and Billy coming behind them.
“ Tell Kevin I hope he feels better, and I hope to see him again.” Angela said looking at the four concerned boys.
“ Actually if you want to come to the after party tomorrow your more than welcome.” AJ suggested, he stiffened when he heard Kevin sniffle a bit inside the limo. It was breaking AJ’s heart to know his friend was so upset.
“ Sure that would be fun. See you tomorrow.” Angela said heading towards her niece and son.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“ Kevin, are you going to be ok?” Brian asked sitting down on the edge of the bed. Kevin lay with his face down on the bed and said nothing. Brian placed his hand on Kevin’s back and then left the room. Pulling the door closed he shook his head and looked at the others.
“ How’s Kevin?” Nick asked.
“ Man, seeing that boy brought it all back. You know that he was doing better.” Brian said looking at his friend. Howie looked towards the closed door and then sat down on the couch in the room. He had suggested they get a suite that had enough rooms and the kitchenette.
“ I think maybe we should stay close to him. If he’s not better by tomorrow I say we postpone the concert.”
“ I agree, I mean he’s always telling us the show must go on but I don’t really think he can handle it right now.” AJ said remembering how he had seen his friend when he had come into the hallway.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kevin lay face down on his bed thinking about his life. He rolled over on to his back and looked at the celing. Hearing the others talking outside of the room he was in, Kevin decided sleeping wasn’t an issue so he stood and made his way to the small box he had in his luggage. Pulling it out he pulled the pictures that lay inside. He ran his finger over the one picture that he treasured the most.
“ I miss you so much. Why, why did you have to leave me.” Kevin said as tears began to flow, he didn’t care and he wasn’t going to whip them away. He pulled the picture of his son, he would have been nine that year, but instead he was gone after he had turned six.
“ My little boy, you would have been such a wonderful boy.” Kevin said running his finger over the picture. Anger filled his next move as he threw the lamp across the room.
“ Why, Why did you take them from me?” Kevin shouted looking up at the sky. “ It’s not fair we where happy, I was finally happy. I hate you.” Kevin screamed as he curled up on the floor and began to sob.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“ What the hell was that?” Brian said heading into the bedroom where Kevin had been. Carefully opening the door he saw on the floor the remains of the lamp that had been on the stand a short time before. Near the bed on the floor lay Kevin curled up sobbing. Brian moved to the floor where his cousin was and pulled Kevin’s shaking figure into his arms. He cradled Kevin like he would a child, running his fingers threw Kevin’s short black hair.
“ It’s going to be ok Kevin. I promise.” Brian whispered. Brian looked up to see the others standing in the doorway.
“ I’ll get a broom.” Howie said heading out of the room. AJ and Nick stood silently in the room, watching Brian comfort their older brother, the one that always comforted them in their time of need. Now it was his turn to be comforted.

Brian had stayed in the room till Kevin had fallen asleep, with help he placed Kevin in the bed pulling the covers up and turning off the light as he left the room.
“ How’s Kevin?” Howie asked rubbing his sleepy eyes.
“ Sleeping finally.” Brian sighed, he ran his fingers threw his blonde hair and sat down.
“ I wish we knew what would help him.” AJ said running his fingers nervously threw his hair.
“ We need to have him talk to someone other than us.” Brian said. Everyone looked at him and nodded.
“ I agree it’s time Kevin seek help about this. I understand loss and I know that seeming to find someone to talk to.”
“ Yeah I know. Come on lets get some sleep.” Nick said rubbing his sleepy eyes. He looked towards Kevin’s door and then walked into his room, he decided that he wanted the room next Kevin’s that night.
“ Night.” The others said as they walked into their rooms.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kevin awoke later that evening. Rubbing his sleep filled eyes he looked towards the clock.
“ 3am. Goodie, why can’t I sleep.” Kevin said looking around the dark room. Reaching over he turned on the light and looked around the room. The remains of the lamp still lay on the floor. Howie had tried his best to clean it up but he had missed a lot of the smaller pieces. Shaking his head he reached over and lifted the small diary he had carried in his bag. It was hers, he had always kept it, something to remind him of her, a picture of Elizabeth inside the cover where he had glued it. He slowly ran his fingers over her picture, she looked so happy in the picture, a huge smile on her face. He remembered the day he had taken it. It was the day they found out she was pregnant with their son. He opened the diary and flipped till he found a page.

~~~ Feb 25th 1999. ~~~~
Dear Diary,
Today I spoke to Mom on the phone. I hadn’t talked to her in weeks. Kevin had insisted that I speak to her about Scott’s school fundraiser. She was excited to be helping her grandson and asked me to come over. I haven’t seen Kevin’s mother since Christmas. Ann is such a bright spot in my life. With Kevin being on the road all the time lately and I just feel so alone. I see my son and I see Kevin in his eyes. Scott is going to be a handsome young man he’s going to break a lot of hearts when he gets older. I kissed him goodnight and told him his daddy loves him, well I best get to bed, Kevin will be calling tomorrow.
Beth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kevin looked at the pages and flipped backwards looking for earlier dates. Just reading her words made him feel like she was there with him.


~~~~ Dec 25th 1995~~~~~
Dear Diary,
I was totally surprised today when I opened the front door and found Brian, Nick, Howie and AJ standing on the other side. Kevin had told me they had been invited over. First time I was getting to meet them. AJ looked so small just like Nick did, I swear they looked like my little brothers. We are going to be such a happy family. Brian was a big surprise when Kevin laughed as he told me Brian was his cousin. These men have only been together two years and you’d swear they where one big family. I laughed as I watched Nick and Brian play the game system Nick seemed to have with him. That boy needs more of a hobby. They sang a few Christmas carols while I played the piano. It was a wonderful night. Scott played with the toys that lay on the floor. But he seemed to find the paper and boxes more interesting. Kevin walked around with a video camera taping everything. I love him so much. Well goodnight.
Beth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kevin whipped the tears away that had threatened to fall down his cheeks as he continued to thumb threw the diary. He had given the diary to his wife on her birthday the year before they where married. He told her she could document anything she wanted in it. Even gave her a special box that he had made for it. He had never imagined he would marry someone at such a young age. But she was his world and he wouldn’t have traded it for anything. He thumbed threw the book and found another entry.


~~~ Nov 10th 1992 ~~~
Dear Diary,
I am getting married. Kevin proposed tonight to me. I am so excited, he introduced me to his mom and dad. They seem to be such a happy couple. I was so surprised to meet his parents. He had invited me to dinner and had us both go over to his parents house, when we arrived his mom met us at the door. She’s a beautiful woman and gracious. She has three wonderful sons. Kevin gave me this diary today in a beautiful box. I love it and I know he took a lot of time finding it and making the box. He had slid a small box just inside over the diary. I was so surprised to find the diamond ring just inside. He proposed to me right there in front of his family. I tried so hard not to cry. Kevin wants us to begin planning the wedding. I was so surprised that he wanted to start right away.
Well enough for tonight.
Beth.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Kevin felt the tears slip down his cheeks, he remembered the day he had proposed to her. She was so surprised and yet she laughed as she felt the ring slid onto her finger as she shouted yes. He wanted to shout from the rooftops that day when she said yes. He looked up at the door when he heard a knock on the door. Setting the diary down he stood and walked to open the door.
“ Morning.” Brian said looking at his cousin. Kevin nodded and stepped aside to let his cousin into the room. Brian looked around at the pictures that lay on the floor.
“ I know you miss her.” Brian said looking at his cousin.
“ More than you could ever imagine.” Kevin said sitting back down on the bed.
“ We know, we loved her too, Kevin you need to let us finally help you with this.”
“ I am doing fine. We have a concert tonight don’t we?” Kevin said.
“ Yeah we do. Are you up to this? We have a party after the concert.” Brian asked. Kevin nodded and began picking up the pictures and folders he had lying on the floor. Brian spotted the small box and the red and gold diary lying on the bed.
“ Are the others up?” Kevin asked as he set the pictures back into his suitcase.
“ Not yet. I wanted to check on you first, I am going to wake Nick and then AJ and Howie. Actually I think D is up.” Brian said hearing some noises in the outer room.
“ Ok. I’ll be with you in a little while.”
“ Alright.” Brian said leaving his cousin alone. Kevin looked at the diary and then towards the room door. Shaking his head he placed the diary back into the box and then into his bag. Grabbing some cloths he headed out of the room.
“ I am going to shower before breakfast.” Kevin said heading into the bathroom.

Kevin sat silently during the meeting. Howie turned towards him several times and then finally gave up. There was no use, he could tell that Kevin wasn’t paying attention.
“ Hey how about we call it done.” Howie suggested looking at their manager.
“ Alright, have a good show tonight. Don’t forget to show up early. So for now get some rest.” He said, he could tell they couldn’t wait to get out of the room.
“ Howie.”
“ Yeah?” Howie said looking towards their manager.
“ What’s up with Kevin, I could actually tell he wasn’t listening today.”
“ He’s just thinking about something.”
“ Well make sure he’s paying attention during the concert.”
“ Sure thing.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kevin walked into the hotel room and then right into his room. Closing the door he sat down on the bed. He looked up and saw Howie standing in the doorway.
“ Kevin we really need to talk about this.”
“ I am fine D, just leave me alone.”
“ We cant keep leaving you alone Kev, your always blowing us off and especially during this time of the year.”
“ I know, just leave me be for a while I am going to read a book and then take a short nap.” Kevin said looking at him. Howie nodded and left the room. Kevin reached into his bag and pulled the box from it, running his finger over the inscription he pulled the book from inside. Lying back on the pillow he began reading. He was tired and finally let the diary fall on to the floor as he drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ Hello my love.”
“ Beth?” Kevin asked looking at the woman that stood before him.
“ Yes. I decided to come and visit.”
“ I’ve missed you so much.” Kevin said taking her into his arms.
“ I know. I am sorry. Scott misses you so much. But we’ve been watching you from heaven. Kevin you need to get on with your life.”
“ I don’t want to get on with my life. My life ended when I lost my family.” Kevin said holding her as close as he could.
“ Baby, I saw your eyes light up when that woman looked at you. Her name was Angela?”
“ Yeah that’s her name. She’s got a son about Scott’s age.”
“ Yes, very handsome. She’s been hurt to Kevin. Maybe you can learn to heal together.”
“ But Beth I miss you so much I don’t think I can be with anyone else.”
“ It’s been four years Kevin. Have you even tried dating?” Elizabeth asked looking into his green eyes.
“ No.”
“ My love I give you my blessing. Please try dating.”
“ I don’t want to.”
“ My love I have to go. Please try for me.” Elizabeth said kissing his lips lightly.
“ No please don’t leave me not again.” Kevin said reaching for her. Elizabeth smiled and disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kevin’s eyes snapped open and he whipped the new tears that had started to fall.
“ I can’t live without you.” Kevin said placing the book in his bag. He looked towards the door just as he heard a light knock.
“ Kev, you ok?” Nick asked.
“ Yeah buddy I’m fine.” Kevin said running his fingers threw his hair.
“ You sure? I could swear I heard you yell out.” Nick said, Kevin looked up at his younger friend and saw the real concern in his friend’s eyes.
“ Yeah, I promise I am fine.” Kevin said with a weak smile. Nick smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed.
“ I worry about you Kev. We have seen you be so strong any other day and now your falling apart.”
“ I promise you I will be fine.” Kevin said standing.
“ We should stop and get some lunch and then head over to the concert hall.”
“ Sure that sounds good.” Kevin said heading towards the door. Nick followed behind him as they walked out of the room. Nick stopped in the doorway, he could have sworn he felt a hand on his shoulder.

The concert began without a hitch. Kevin sang and danced his heart out. He smiled feeling that Elizabeth was watching him. Brian turned and looked towards the dark end of the stage and he could have sworn that he had seen Elizabeth and Scott.
“ You know I swear I was seeing things.” Brian said while they where changing for the next part of the performance.
“ Why?” Kevin asked looking at his cousin.
“ I could have sworn I saw Beth and Scott on the side of the stage.” Brian said looking at everyone.
“ Ok so I wasn’t seeing things.” Nick said rubbing his eyes.
“ You saw them too?”
“ We all did.” Howie said looking at them all. “ She’s saying she approves of anything we do.”
“ Angela is here.” Brian said remembering seeing her in the audience.
“ Yeah I saw her. Is she coming to the party?” Kevin asked.
“ Yeah she’s coming to the party, as our guest. I gave her, her backstage pass and VIP pass.” Brian told him. Kevin smiled and climbed up towards the hole where they where to reenter the stage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“ Kevin she’s here.” Brian said looking at his cousin. Kevin turned to see Angela and Billy enter the room. Kevin smiled widely and walked towards them.
“ It’s good to see you. Sorry about yesterday.” Kevin said.
“ It’s alright I get that way from time to time.”
“ How about we talk alone?”
“ Sure, Billy go and visit.”
“ Sure thing mom.” Billy said heading towards some young people that had gathered near Nick. Kevin smiled and led her from the room. They sat down on a couch in a small hallway.
“ You’re a beautiful woman.” Kevin said looking into her green eyes.
“ Thank you and you’re a handsome man. Lonely it seems.” Angela said looking at him.
“ Lonely, that I can agree to. I am lonely. I haven’t been with anyone else since my wife’s death. What about you and your husband?”
“ My husband Patrick and I where married for a short time before his death. My gift to him was our son, then he became sick.”
“ How long was he sick before you lost him?” Kevin asked. He thought maybe if he heard things about someone else’s loss that maybe it would help him grieve and move on.
“ Patrick had been diagnosed with brain cancer the year he proposed. He had found out before he asked me to marry him. I knew he was asking because he wanted me to be his wife before he died, and I also knew he didn’t want to die alone.”
“ That must have been hard.”
“ It was. We lived happily for almost a year, then he started getting sicker, he had been rushed to the hospital twice before they finally told us he didn’t have much longer to be with us. He did the treatments and seemed to be getting better. We found out I was pregnant. He was so happy to know that I was having a baby. He promised me that he would stay around till his child was born. I gave birth to William seven months later. Patrick became sicker and I held our new son in my arms when I finally let Patrick go.” Angela said a few tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. Kevin handed her a tissue and placed his hand on hers.
“ What about you Kevin? How did you lose your wife?”
“ I lost my wife.” Kevin started. “ She was coming to meet us at one of the shows. I had wanted to spend the holidays with her and our son. But with the weather had shifted and we got stuck in Detroit. She offered to drive up and I really wanted to see her. In some ways it was my fault she had been in that accident and was killed along with our son.”
“ Kevin it was an accident and wasn’t anyone’s fault but the man that hit them. And even that guy wasn’t at fault it was a bad storm.”
“ But she wouldn’t have been out in it if I had just gone home when it was clear instead we stayed an extra day to do some shopping.” Kevin said fighting the tears that threatened to fall.
“ Hey it would have happened even if you had been home. If it was destined to happen it would have.” Angela said looking into Kevin’s eyes. Kevin nodded and stood slowly, she heard him take a shaky breath and then turn and look at her.
“ I am glad I met you, but it’s getting late and maybe young Billy is looking for his mother.” Kevin said with a smile.
“ Yeah he probably is. Maybe we can do this again.” Angela said shaking his hand. Kevin pulled her into a warm hug and then looked at her.
“ Maybe. Here is my number. We will be taking some time off soon. And I’ll be heading home.”
“ Are you asking me to come to your home Mr. Richardson?” She asked with a giggle.
“ Yes I am. If you would like to, bring your son. He would enjoy the Kentucky winter.” Kevin said.
“ Then I will take you up on that.” Angela responded with a smile.
“ Good.” Kevin said writing his number down for her and handing her the small card.
“ Alright see you soon.” Angela said hugging him again as they headed into the main room. Billy came running towards his mother.
“ Momma are we ready to go?” Billy asked rubbing his sleepy eyes.
“ We sure are. Are you sleepy?”
“ Yeah. Are we going to call grandma and grandpa tonight?”
“ Yes we sure are. Come on we must hurry back to the hotel or they will be in bed before we can call.”
“ Ok. Thanks for the fun.” Billy said looking at Kevin.
“ Anytime Billy.” Kevin said as Billy shook his hand. Billy took Angela’s hand and they left the room. Kevin looked around to see the others looking at him. Kevin nodded and grabbed his coat and headed out the door.

“ He must be doing alright, he carried on a conversation without running from her.”
“ Yeah I noticed, he’s ready to go come on.” Howie said heading for the door. Brian sighed and followed the rest of the group from the party, they where able to slip from the party unnoticed. Brian sat down in the car next to Kevin. Kevin was smiling, something they hadn’t seen him do in a very long time.
“ You seem happy.”
“ Yeah, Angela is a wonderful woman. I don’t know how she’s raised her son alone. I was so lost without Beth and Scott.” Kevin said looking at his cousin.
“ Strength comes to people in the strangest of times. You really needed someone around like her a long time ago.” Brian said.
“ It’s true, she’s a real work, and if she helps you then so be it. When are you seeing her again?”
“ I told her when we go on break I asked her to come to the house.” Kevin said beaming.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The months of the tour seemed to come to an end quicker than they had all expected. Howie went home for the holidays spending that time with his family and doing his charity work. AJ went home to his moms for the holiday and was going to spend the time with Howie’s family as well. Nick decided he was going to spend the holiday with his brother, things with his mother weren’t good and he didn’t need that stress during his break, Kevin hurried home with Brian, Brian smiled at his cousin.
“ Are you sure that you don’t want to come with me?” Brian asked looking at his cousin.
“ Yeah I’m sure, just remember I’ll be there on Christmas day with a few extra visitors.” Kevin said looking at him.
“ Alright man, see you in a few weeks.” Brian said hugging him. With that Kevin walked one way out of the airport and Brian went to catch his connecting flight to Alabama to be home with his own family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kevin walked into his home. He looked around the dusty house and smiled. It had been four years since a woman had been in his home and he really needed to pick up. He looked towards the mantle and smiled at the picture of him, Elizabeth and Scott. It was a picture that had been taken right after their son was born.
“ Finally some happiness in this home.” Kevin said blowing a kiss to his lovely wife and then went about putting his dirty cloths in the washing machine and proceeded to clean the house. He had received a call earlier in the day, his cellphone. And he spoke to Angela and she said she and Billy would be arriving in a few hours. So he had a short time to clean. Once he had finished with the house, he decided to check on the horses that he had bought right after his son had been born. Walking into the barn he called out to the four horses he had.
“ Well hello boys. Daddy is home. How about I let you out into the pasture and I clean your stalls.” Kevin said walking to each of the horses. Hearing what he hopped was a happy reply he opened the stalls and ushered the horses from the barn and out to the large pasture.


Kevin looked up from his cleaning when he heard what sounded like a car pull into his yard. Walking out to the yard he saw Angela and Billy climb from the cab and the cabbie hand them their bags. Hurrying over to them he paid the cabbie and smiled at Angela.
“ Welcome to my home.” Kevin said sweeping his hand out around the yard and house that was displayed before them.
“ Wow the place is huge.” Billy said looking around. Angela smiled when she saw her son’s eyes light up at the site of the horses in the yard.
“ They friendly?” Billy asked. Kevin turned to what Billy was looking at and smiled.
“ Wouldn’t have them around if they weren’t. The black one is Thunder, the white one is Pearl, the spotted one is Babe and the smaller one is Tiny, he’s my son’s horse. You can ride any one of them that you chose. Bart can help you saddle them up.” Kevin said seeing the older man step from the stables. During the time Kevin was on tour or doing other things Bart tended to the needs of the horses and the up keep of the grounds.
“ Wow can I momma?”
“ Sure go a head.” Angela said.
“ Come on in.” Kevin said as Billy scampered down to the pasture.
“ Sure thanks.” Angela said as Kevin gathered their bags and headed into the house.


Kevin watched as Angela moved around the living room. He had excused himself so he could shower and get changed. He feared he smelled like the barn and when he pulled off his own cloths he was right. Laughing he walked into the living room and watched as Angela looked at everything. Angela picked up a small unicorn statue and looked at it.
“ My wife made that.” Kevin said startling the young woman.
“ Really?”
“ She was big into making things. That picture frame over the mantle she made. She made a lot of things around the house.” Kevin said smiling.
“ Sounds like a wonderful woman.” Angela said looking at Kevin.
“ She was.” Kevin said sitting down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kevin stood in the kitchen making dinner. He could hear Angela and Billy talking about his day, the rides he had taken and the fun he’d had. Kevin laughed and continued making the meal. He heard the phone ring and reached for the phone.
“ hello?”
“ He cuz how are things?” Brian asked.
“ Things are good. How are Leigh and Baylee?”
“ Both are doing good. Leigh says hi and says she can’t wait to see you for the holiday.”
“ That’s a few weeks away.” Kevin laughed.
“ You bringing Angela and Billy along?”
“ Yeah I was planning on it you all ok with that?”
“ Yeah it’s fine. See you in a few weeks Kev. Leigh wants to take Baylee out for a while.”
“ Alright cuz have a good day.” Kevin said hanging up. Kevin looked towards the two people in the living room. It had been a long time since he had laughter in his home. Kevin watched them for a while longer and then finally joined them in the living room.
“ There you are.” Angela said looking at him.
“ Sorry, that was Brian.”
“ How is your cousin doing?”
“ Brian and his wife are doing fine. Their son is getting so big.” Kevin said with a smile.
“ Oh that’s right Brian and Leighann have a son.”
“ Yep they do little Baylee and he’s doing wonderful. They wanted to make sure I was coming for Christmas.”
“ Are you?”
“ Of course it’s family but I am bringing two extra special guests.”
“ Thanks.” Angela said smiling.