Chapter 7
Mac hardly slept a wink all night, but she was so pumped full of adrenaline over meeting the Backstreet Boys that fatigue probably wouldn’t hit her until the following evening. And, since she’d had nothing else to do all night long, her suitcases could make even Monk proud. That’s a good show, she thought to herself as she doodled in a leather bound journal.
Mac was meticulous about carrying her journal with her at all times; it came from working under cover so much. There was never a time that Mac wasn’t working. Even in her sleep, her dreams were hard at work trying to make sense of whatever case she happened to be on. She was a little anal and a bit of a workaholic, but her captain always said that’s why she made such a “damn fine agent”.
Everything Mac saw was treated like a keen observation that she turned into a mental snapshot. The problem was, all those pictures she took all the time could get lost in the never-ending file cabinet she had for a brain. That’s what the journal was for. She bought a new journal every time she started a new case. She bought this newest one right after her meeting with Brian and immediately started four different pages for her notes on each of the boys. She had a particularly fun time googling them to find the perfect pictures for each page.
She stared down at the open page in front of her at the picture she’d chosen for Brian. It was one of him and Baylee together, but it had obviously been taken pre-Leighanne’s death because the sparkle in both their eyes as they smiled was enough to bring a smile to Mac’s face as well. He’s not the sexiest Backstreet Boy, she thought, but he and Baylee sure are cute together.
Mac’s eyes dropped below the picture to the nearly blank page, and she sighed. She was supposed to be using the hour and fifteen minute flight to write about her first encounter with the man but all she had so far was: “serious, quiet, and probably wouldn’t look too bad in a spandex suit.” That last one was more of a joke, but she had been surprised by Brian’s physique when she saw him; he always seemed so tiny on stage and in pictures. True, he wasn’t any taller than she was, but she guessed he could easily bench-press two of her.
Mac tried to focus, but the thought of going on tour had turned her into some kind of fourteen-year-old groupie. She zoned out for a minute until the captain announced their final approach and asked everyone to please return their seatbacks and tray tables to their upright positions. When she realized she’d just been sketching things like “I heart AJ” and “KTBSPA” in the corners of the paper she groaned inwardly, slammed the book shut, and waited very impatiently for her plane to land.
She was a little relieved to see a man in a dark suit holding a sign with her name on it when she arrived because it would give her a chance to get rid of the butterflies that formed in her stomach when she realized just how close she was to meeting the rest of the boys. Then she thanked heaven that she’d decided to get up early and get ready before her flight because the car took her straight to the venue in downtown Phoenix where the Backstreet Boys were slated to perform that evening, and apparently having a rehearsal at 10 am, and she wanted to look perfect for her first meeting.
When Mac arrived, she was greeted by a well-dressed woman in her late thirties carrying a Blackberry and a walkie-talkie. “You must be Ms. Adams,” she said with a friendly smile and a firm handshake.
“Mac.”
“Well, Mac, am I glad to see you!”
“Really?” Mac asked curiously.
The woman nodded. “I’m Geneen, the Boys’ tour manager, but I’ve been on nanny duty since Lisa left and don’t get me wrong Baylee’s a sweet boy, but there’s a reason I don’t have any of the little buggers of my own.”
“Consider yourself relieved then.” Mac laughed. “Just point me in the right direction.”
“Gladly.”
Geneen instructed the driver to take Mac’s luggage to the busses and led Mac inside. “The guys are on the stage right now, and Baylee’s just hanging out in the front row. If you want to just hang out until they’re done, I’m sure Brian will go over everything else with you.”
When they reached the auditorium doors, Mac’s heart fluttered with nerves and she stopped just a foot short. “Do you think I could find a ladies room first?” she asked with a nervous laugh. “It was an early flight. I’ve had a little too much coffee this morning.”
“Story of my life honey.” Geneen laughed and then handed Mac a badge to hang over her neck. “Listen I’ve gotta go, our brilliant sound crew misplaced one of their amps, but the bathroom’s just down the hall there. You’ll need this. Keep it pretty visible, our security guards can be a little overzealous.”
In the restroom Mac stared at her self in the mirror. “Get a grip Mac! You’re FBI for crying out loud, you’re trained to keep calm under pressure!”
After making a note in her journal to look into the overzealous security guards, she took a deep breath and reapplied her lip-gloss. She tugged at her outfit and then pushed a dark lock behind her ear that had fallen from her twisted up hair, cursing the bangs she was trying to grow out as she did. Then, allowing herself to think she looked decent for once, cute even, she crossed the hall and slipped quietly into the auditorium.
For a split second, Mac grinned like a lovesick teenager as she watched the boys working with their choreographer, but she quickly donned her game face and turned her attention to the small boy coloring in the center aisle. She walked up behind him and grinned at the picture of four stick men on a stage. Baylee had given each of them just enough characteristics that she knew exactly who was who. “You didn’t tell me you were a junior Picasso,” she said, surprising Baylee as she tussled his mop of curls.
“You’re here!” Baylee squealed.
Mac was so surprised when Baylee tackled her with an enormous hug that she nearly fell backward and cautiously gave him a gentle squeeze back. The interaction caught the attention of all four Backstreet Boys and, as Baylee proceeded to explain his artwork to Mac, they each took a minute to check out the newcomer.
Brian gulped nervously as he tried to decide if the classy looking woman with his son was indeed the same person he’d hired in the park yesterday. He’d noticed she had attractive features before, but she certainly hadn’t look like this. He was pulled from his thoughts by a surprise jab in his side from Nick, who was practically drooling as he whispered, “Baylee got a long lost majorly hot aunt you’ve never told us about or something?”
Brian’s gaze returned to Mac, and Howie answered Nick’s question for him. “I think that’s the new nanny.”
“That’s grandma Mac?” AJ coughed in surprise.
“Excuse me?” Mac said as she whirled around just in time to see Nick elbow AJ.
“She certainly hears better than a grandma,” Howie snickered.
“This is a concert hall, Mr. Dorough. They’re specifically designed to make your voice resonate.”
Howie immediately stopped giggling and shrugged apologetically, falsely thinking he’d managed to whisper that quietly enough. There was no way for him to know that, aside from Mac’s keen ears, she was trained in the bureau to be an expert lip reader.
“I’m sorry,” AJ said feeling horribly embarrassed and then nervously blurted, “Nick said it first.”
“Dude!” Nick hissed and then turned his bright red face to the woman staring at him with wide eyes. “It’s not my fault. Brian told me you were like fifty.”
Mac’s jaw dropped as she slowly met Brian’s horrified expression. After blinking back her astonishment she finally managed to gain control of her surprise. “Are you trying to give me a complex?”
Brian couldn’t manage to find his voice enough to explain, and Mac looked down when she felt someone tugging on her pants. “Dad was just teasing Nick because Nick was mad that Dad said you weren’t his type.”
“Not helping little man,” Nick said as he glared at Baylee.
There was a nice awkward silence for a minute and finally Mac cracked a smile. “Ok then Baylee,” she said playfully as she knelt down to his level. “Whose type am I?”
“I think you’re really pretty.”
“Why, thank you Baylee, as it happens I think you are completely adorable as well.”
Baylee grinned widely at Mac and then looked up at the four men on the stage, beaming with pride. “Did ya hear that Nick? I get first dibbs this time.”
Nick turned bright red again, and Brian slapped his hand over his face with a groan, utterly humiliated.
“I guess I underestimated the need for my presence.” Mac laughed forcefully. “What are you guys teaching this child?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know the half of it,” laughed the choreographer, who had watched the entire scene play out. “Welcome to the team, honey.”
“Mac.”
“Nice to meet you, Mac. I’m Karen, and I hate to sound like a stickler, but I only have 45 minutes left to whip these guys into shape for tonight and apparently some of them, eh-hem, NICK, had too much fun in Las Vegas…”
“Oh, no, please, carry on. I’m sorry for the distraction. I’ll just have Baylee take me on a tour then?” Mac looked to Brian for approval, and he barely shrugged a nod.
Once she was safely out of the room Brian was immediately met with an arm over his shoulder. “I take back anything I ever said about you,” Nick said, taking a moment to form a mental picture. “And that whole sexy sophisticated, Lois Lane look she’s got going on? Mmm!”
“Whoa there, tiger.” AJ laughed, “I guarantee you that girl is way too much woman for you to handle.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Fifty bucks says she’d rather go out with me.”
“Guys!” Brian groaned. “The nanny, I mean Mac, is off limits! Got it?”
“You’re not just trying to keep her all for yourself are you?”
“OFF LIMITS!”
***
Brian could hear the low hum of voices as he neared his tour bus after rehearsal. He stopped outside the door, dreading having to face Mac after that horrific display inside. He had no idea what he was going to say to her, but there was no avoiding it, so he heaved the door open and climbed heavily up the steps. He stopped when he saw Baylee sitting in Mac’s lap reading The Cat In The Hat together, exactly the way he and Leighanne used to. For a moment Brian could see his wife’s face, but the image was shattered by the sound of Mac’s voice.
“How was rehearsal?” She asked timidly, seeing the pain in Brian’s eyes. Brian didn’t respond to Mac’s question though. “I’m so sorry,” Mac muttered nervously after seeing the way Brian kept shifting his eyes between her and his son. “He just kind of climbed up here when we sat down,” she explained as she scooted Baylee onto the bench beside her. “He’s an awfully friendly little guy.”
“Oh, no,” Brian replied quickly when he realized why Mac was nervous. “Um, that’s fine. He’s probably a little attention starved truthfully.”
“Then why are you looking at me like I just killed your cat or something?”
Brian was surprised by the bluntness of her question. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, shaking himself from his daze. “You just reminded me of…” His voice trailed off and he again had to shake himself back to the present. “Never mind.”
He smiled, but his eyes seemed lifeless, and, for the first time, Mac got a real dose of the heartache he lived with. It broke her heart and made the situation extremely uncomfortable. Mac smiled at Baylee and reached for his box of crayons. “Hey Baylee, how would you like to draw a picture for me while your Dad and I step outside for a minute?”
Brian was surprised by the request, but not as much as Baylee was. He looked up at Mac with wide eyes. “Are you guys gonna kiss?”
“What?” Mac laughed.
“That’s what Nick always said when he came to see me and Lisa, and they used to kiss.”
Just when Brian thought their first day couldn’t get any worse. “He’s a dead man,” he grumbled with a horrified expression.
Mac gave Brian a smirk and then plastered a serious yet sweet look on her face before facing Baylee again. “No Baylee, we’re not going to kiss. We just need to have some grown up talk. Is that ok?”
Baylee wrinkled his nose at the sound of grown up talk and then sighed as he accepted the crayons from Mac. “OK,” he said. “I’ll draw you a picture of the beach since you like it a lot.”
“That sounds great.”
Brian wasn’t looking forward to whatever “grown up talk” meant, and he nervously followed Mac a safe distance from the bus. When she stopped, he immediately began with the huge apology he felt he owed her. “Look, I am so sorry about the whole grandma thing,” he began. “I wasn’t calling you old, you just have to understand Nick. He was hounding me for details and I was tired so I said what I knew would get him to go away. After that it was too funny letting him think I’d hired someone he couldn’t hit on.”
Mac had already figured that out and wasn’t the least bit upset about it, but Brian was too funny at the moment, so she stood there letting him fumble his way through a nervous apology anyway. “And that whole thing about not being his type, that’s sort of a compliment. I mean the girls he likes are usually, well, girls, and you’re more like a wo–“
Brian stopped himself, embarrassed by his thoughts, and Mac couldn’t help smirking. “Like a grandma?” she teased.
“Woman.” Brian cringed sheepishly.
“It’s alright Mr. Littrell. I get it. Nick’s a horn dog. If it was me, I probably would have told him I hired a gay guy that had a thing for tall blondes, but a grandma’s just as funny. No offense taken, okay?”
Brian released a giant breath of relief. “Thanks, and please, its just Brian.”
“Okay, Brian.” Mac wiped the smirk from her face and then sighed. “Can I say something?”
Brian gave Mac a curious look and that was all she needed to spill what was on her mind. “I know what happened to your wife, I did my homework. I’m sorry you had to go through that; it must have been awful for you.”
Brian’s face paled at the mention of Leighanne, so Mac softened her expression and continued as gently as she could. “You’re right, I am a lot older than most nannies. I can imagine it’s difficult for you to have another woman around. It’s probably a little confusing for Baylee too.”
Brian opened his mouth to say something, but Mac didn’t give him the chance to deny it, “No,” she continued. “I don’t want this to be awkward for the next six months and certainly don’t want to overstep any kind of boundaries. I’m not his mother, I would never try to fill those shoes, so I think maybe we should talk tonight after Baylee goes to sleep and try to set some ground rules. It might help if you tell me about her.”
Brian was always reluctant to talk about Leighanne, especially with another woman, but Mac was right. And after the morning they’d had so far, Brian was willing to try anything to ease the tension. He was impressed with the way Mac was able to handle the situation and even though it would be strange to have another woman in his life, he relaxed a little thinking that he’d made the right decision in hiring her. After thinking for a moment he finally cracked a small smile. “I’d like that.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
ok everyone, blame me (honey) for the slow update this time and thank Sarah for keeping me on track! She's really just the best, isn't she?
