When I moved into my seventh month, the D-Bags went international. Kellan was worried at first about me continuing to be on the tour. He didn’t want to run the risk of me giving birth backstage; he wanted me to be as safe as possible. I told him it was fine, we would be home long before I was due. Kellan didn’t really want to be away from me then anyway, so my words easily convinced him. Plus, I told him we could finally become members of the Mile High club during the super-long flight to Australia. Since Kellan had never had sex on a plane before, he was intrigued, to say the least. Considering how far along I was, joining the club was a challenge. It took a lot of finagling, skill, and a hand clamped over my mouth. Airplane-bathroom sex made tour bus–cubby sex seem spacious in comparison, but we managed to pull it off. A giggling air stewardess even gave us wings afterwards. Kellan wore his pinned to his shirt the entire time we were Down Under.
So, while I was plump and full of life, I roamed a rock concert with a rock star. The band was playing in Perth first, then heading over to Sydney and Brisbane. The backstage area was full of contest winners, diehard groupies, radio personalities, the crew, and members of the bands. While security was present and watchful, Kellan insisted that the fans weren’t confined to a meet-and-greet room and were allowed to roam and mingle with the rock stars. Clumps of them were even allowed to stay during the concert, something Sienna had never allowed. But Kellan still wanted some level of intimacy with his fans. That made writing more of a challenge for me, since just as many of his fans wanted to talk with Mrs. Kyle too. But laptop in hand, I found a spot to listen to him perform and work on my writing.
Since publishing my first book, I had really started focusing on my second book. Maybe it was the countless hours that Kellan had read Pride and Prejudice to me, but the storylines that filled my mind were all Jane Austen–style historical romances. I found that time period fascinating and engrossing, and now that my autobiographical story was purged from my mind, I loved the idea of doing something different and shifting away from contemporary novels.
Periodically while writing, I watched my man on stage. He was having such a good time on this tour. He loved hanging out with Holeshot and Avoiding Redemption. The three bands meshed well, personality-wise and musically. In fact, when the tour was over, Justin and Kellan were going to record a collaboration, a song they’d both been working on during quiet times. I’d heard the guys practicing the song together, and it gave me chills. I couldn’t wait for the fans to hear it.
Kellan and the guys were planning on recording the album in Seattle this time, keeping it close to home, since I would be so much closer to delivering by then. Nick was fine with it, though. Truthfully, Nick was fine with a lot of stuff recently. After the scandal with Sienna, he’d been scared straight by his father. That man did not want to lose his two largest acts because of the manipulative way his son had been running things.
True to her word, Sienna kept her distance from us. She’d congratulated the boys for their Grammy win at an after party, but that was about all we’d heard from her. Her album had plummeted after her soulful, honest public apology, but she was slowly starting to bounce back. And I had no doubt in my mind that she would. If anything, the woman was tenacious.
By the time the tour was over, I was ready to go home. I was tired and very, very pregnant. I had a newfound respect for Anna for staying on the tour right up until the very end of her pregnancy. It was fun on the road, but it was a draining lifestyle. I was eager to see my sister again too. So was Griffin. Anna had decided not to join the boys on this tour. Gibson was getting into a stage where she needed more attention and guidance—absolutely everything went into that girl’s mouth—so Anna had stayed home with her. I was very proud of my sister for putting the baby’s needs first. That was leaps and bounds from the Anna I’d grown up with. She’d been worried about it, but she was a great mom. I hoped I’d be just as great.
When I hit my ninth month of pregnancy, I was done with it. I was huge. I was exhausted. My feet were swollen. My back ached. I could not find a comfortable sleeping position to save my life. And my amped-up sex drive had sizzled away to nothing. I wanted this child out of my body.
Kellan did everything he could to appease me. He drove a half an hour away just to get me one specific kind of ice cream. He gave me back massages every night. He even tried to give me a pedicure, which made me laugh so hard that my feet were shaking and the bright red nail polish ended up smeared all over my toes and his hands. It was sweet, though.
Just when I accepted the fact that I was going to be pregnant forever, I started having contractions. I immediately wrote down when they happened and how long they lasted. Kellan noticed me scribbling in one of his lyric journals and rested his head on my shoulder. “Whatcha doin’?”
Staring at a stop watch, I counted the seconds as I breathed through the pain. “I’m logging my contractions.”
“You’re what?” Kellan turned me to face him; his eyes were wide and panicked. “Is it time? Should I take you to the hospital now? I’ll start the car. And I’ll get your bag. Shoot, I need to put the car seat in.”