I told her I trusted her, and I did.
She needed to trust herself.
The whole groupexperienced every emotion in the 75-minute show. The energy was overwhelming, a tidal wave of shared emotion. I admired how a little could strip away reality and really live in that world where the tornado scared them and the wizard made them cower like the lion, and the entire theater collectively pulled for Dorothy on her journey home.
It was even more amazing how the adults were drawn in right there with them. At the end, the whole place erupted in applause. Kylie got caught up in the excitement, rising to her feet, joining the rest of the bigs and littles celebrating the experience. As the exuberance calmed, staff dressed as characters came out to announce the continuation of the show in the lobby. We filed out with the rest of the crowd.
The building was secured, but anything could happen. Kyler was having a private, stern word with Rayna. Thankfully, she was listening to him and stayed close.
Tinley was already in Josh’s arms, watching the whole scene with eyes wide with excitement, not fear.
I approached Kylie.
“I want you to stay with Tinley. If anything looks off, let me know.” She nodded. “You good?”
“Yes, I’m fine.” She cleared her throat. “I got it.”
She slid past me and waved Josh and Tinley to follow her right behind Kyler and Rayna.
She said something to Josh, who then placed Tinley on her feet. The simple shift created a better barrier around the little. They moved with the crowd into the hallway and toward the escalator. The hologram show began on a small stage in the lobby. Littles ran up with their bigs in tow, some broken away from their caregivers. They would certainly pay for that later.
A group of littles had shown up to littles’ weekend unaccompanied. Staff were assigned to manage them, whichbecame necessary almost immediately when they started pushing their way to the front.
Our party made it to the ground floor. Kylie and Josh had their heads together again. There was a column, center stage, but behind the rush up front. She and another guard guided them in that direction, and once there, Tinley clung to her daddy like a koala bear. Her eyes darted around, taking in the rest of the show. Good thing Josh was six feet four.
“We have eyes on Rayna.” A member of my staff reported. “Stage right. She found a flying monkey on the ground.”
I spotted them and chuckled as Rayna animatedly chatted and touched the monkey’s wings. The lobby show lasted about ten minutes. Once complete, our staff announced the guests could look at the exhibits and buy souvenirs. The buses was rolling out in 30 minutes.
They had a show open to the public in an hour.
As the crowd dissipated, our crew gathered, keeping a distance but allowing the girls to enjoy themselves. Watching everyone so lost in their joy carved out a hollow space in my chest. I hadn’t felt this alone in a long time.
With the look on Kylie's face, she was feeling it too.
I was tired of it. Maybe she was too.
Maybe tonight would be the perfect night to decide what we both wanted.
CHAPTER 19
KYLIE
Oh, my goodness! The theater? Amazing.
The show? Brilliant.
My life at this very moment? Miserable.
How did I end up here?
It was the perfect opportunity to get Tinley and Rayna alone. Their Daddies and Patrick already instructed them to listen to every word I said. The group of three hundred people was relatively small, but with the chaos of two-thirds of them being little, it felt like it was three thousand people running around, especially in the lobby during the after show. Rayna was off to the side of the stage, watching by herself. Two of her guards were within earshot, but Kyler was off to the side on his phone. Josh and Tinley were near the back. She was so short; he had to lift her for her to see, and she wasn’t about to get lost in that crowd.
It was harder than I thought to keep professional. Several times during the show, and like now, the atmosphere had my little banging on the door to be let out to play. A few hundred deep breaths and a little pinch on the wrist kept me from sinking deeper into little space and kept me focused and alert. Anyonewho tried to hurt Rayna, Tinley, or the Grants in this situation would be insane.
Which again made it the perfect situation to get the girls alone and get them out. Or at least, it was the perfect time to plan their escape. They needed to know I was here to protect them, even if it meant from themselves.
“Kylie? Copy?” Patrick’s voice in my earbud said.
