Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 100441 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100441 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
He’s pushing Kaylee on the swing when I get to him.
“Daddy! I can do it myself!” she yells. “Lyric taught me how.”
Ryder eyes me. “Did he now? This I’ve got to see.”
We step aside and watch as Kaylee swings her legs to make herself go higher and higher.
“You were right about coming here,” he mutters while making impressed faces at his daughter.
“I’m sorry about them.”
“Eh, I’m used to it. Not so used to the bluntness about Maggie, though.”
“Maggie?”
“Kaylee’s mom.”
“Sorry. I wasn’t sure how they’d react to you, but I didn’t think they’d actually cross personal boundaries.”
“You’ll find out for yourself one day when you’re famous.”
I scoff. “Yeah. Okay. At this rate, I don’t think that’ll ever happen. Had another rejection over the weekend. A manager came to see me play. He didn’t even stay for my whole set.”
“Sorry. That sucks.”
I shrug. “I’ll just keep plugging away.”
Ryder touches my arm. “Until you become famous, you can continue to be my protector.”
“From horny moms?”
Ryder laughs. “I was going to say from all the personal questions, but I guess yours works too. Thank you for butting in over there. Not everyone would have. People come to expect celebrities to deal with stuff like that. We don’t get personal boundaries.”
“Maybe I don’t want fame after all.” I’m only half-joking.
“Nah, fame is awesome. It’s just ten times harder when you’re trying to protect someone else.” He looks at his daughter as if she hung the moon.
But behind his proud blue eyes lies a whole lot of guilt.
“Into the unknooooown!” I sing at the top of my lungs along with Kaylee, who’s wearing an Elsa dress that’s almost two sizes too small for her. She has more in her wardrobe, but this is her favorite one.
Apparently.
Kaylee and I are still getting to know each other better, which happened to include learning the backlog of every Frozen song ever made. Even the outtakes that never made it into the movies.
The only reprieve I’ve had is when we’ve picked up Chase and they’ve entertained each other for a few hours before it was time to go home.
I try to work out where Ryder’s genes play into her looks, but there isn’t much of a resemblance. She has hair a few shades darker than Ryder’s brown locks. Her eyes are pale green unlike his piercing blue. Their noses are different too. Hers is narrow and petite. He’s not carrying around a giant Barbara Streisand nose or anything, but it’s fuller than Kaylee’s.
“Again,” she says.
“Again? Can it be another song?”
“No! ‘Into the Unknown.’”
“Hon, why don’t you let it go?” Frozen puns. My new life.
“No, I don’t like that song anymore. ‘Into the Unknown’!” She jumps up and down on the couch that she should not be standing on, but every time I try to get her to sit down, she screams. Luckily, Ryder’s not here to see me handling this so well.
Brenna might be right when she says Kaylee’s a handful, but honestly, she’s mostly well behaved. She’s at that boundary-pushing stage and gets in moods of stubbornness, but that’s normal.
It’s what kids do.
“One more time,” I say.
“Two more times.”
“One more song and then reading. If you finish the book without help from me on any words, you get another song.”
I was surprised to find out Kaylee’s already able to read some words. She’s above where she should be at her age, and I figure if we can hone her reading skills, it’ll make kindergarten next year easier on her.
Kaylee contemplates it, but I’m expecting her to say no. She’s only learning to read and hasn’t gotten through a book yet without any help.
“If I finish the book without help, I get three more songs.”
“Deal.” And that’s how you negotiate with terrorists … I mean children.
Only, I learn extremely quickly that either she’s smarter than she lets on, is desperate for more songs, or I’m a really excellent teacher. Let’s go with the last one.
She reads an entire early reader without any help, and I’m wondering if she knew how to do that the whole time.
“Kaylee,” I say, my tone laced with suspicion, “do you already know how to read?”
She giggles. “No. This is my favorite book. I ’member all the words.”
The little cheater. I can’t even be mad because she’s too smart for her own good.
“Now, sing,” she demands.
With a sigh, I mutter, “Hey, Google, play ‘Into the Unknown’ from Frozen.”
Her little face lights up as she sings the intro.
She has an amazing voice even at four-years-old. I guess she got that from Ryder.
I join in, though I push to sound more like Brendon Urie and less like Idina Menzel.
Kaylee spins in her Elsa dress, and I laugh through the lyrics at how adorable she is.
We dance around the play area, jumping over her scattered toys.
When we get to the bridge in the song, I get down on my knees as I belt out the words.