AllFreeNovel
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“Let it go! Let it go! And I’m one with the wind and starrrrs!” I scream the words at the top of my lungs, butchering them, I’m certain, but Allie doesn't care. She’s singing right along with me, wrapped in my arms as I spin us around the living room. Her head tilted back, arms swinging wide as we dance.
I should be watching for furniture, or coffee tables, or things that could take me out at the knee but all I can do is watch the smile on her face grow the faster we spin.
“Are you ready, ready for the ending?” She nods along, her smile so wide it’s infectious.
“Let the storm rage onnnnn, the cold never bothered me anyways,” I sing at the top of my lungs, shimmying my shoulders the best I can with her in my arms, her little body trying to copy the one dance move I taught her.
She giggles, pulling me in for a hug as the song ends and our movements slow.Frozenhas quickly become one of my top favorite Disney movies. It’s refreshing that her true love is her sister, not some douchebag boyfriend. I grew up watchingThe Little Mermaid, which taught me that if you couldn’t speak a word, as long as you had a pretty smile and perky tits a man would still fall in love with you. Not exactly the message I’d want someone like Allie to take away from relationships.
Emmett stands at the kitchen counter, distracted from putting away the pizza boxes and instead watching us spin until I lose my balance and we fall together on the couch.
“More, more,” Allie commands.
“Nenna needs a little break, then we can do some more.”
“Nenna might be tired, sweetie. That’s a lot of spinning and dancing you two are doing.” Emmett pipes up.
“You’re welcome to take my place,” I call over to him. “Don’t pretend you don’t know all the words. If I wasn’t here, it’d be you dancing with her.”
He shakes his head as he turns to bring the empty boxes to the garage. “I plead the fifth.”
“Is Daddy a terrible singer?” I whisper to Allie once he’s around the corner.
“I heard that,” he bellows from the hall, slamming the garage door.
I swing her into the kitchen and catch a look out the dining room windows, seeing the snow falling. My gaze moves to the right, and I see the reflection of Emmett watching us, his tall body leaning over the counter, and I spin around, our eyes locking. Allie stops giggling and her head falls to my shoulder, no doubt coming down from the chocolate fudge bomb andFrozenhigh, and I soak in the moment of her in my arms and his gaze focused on us.
“Well . . .” I clear my throat. “It looks like it’s starting to snow. I better go before the roads get slick.”
He stands up and moves to the foyer. “Are your keys in your purse?” he calls out.
“Yeah?” I look at Allie and mouth,“what’s Daddy doing?”
She shrugs.
He scoops them out and slips on his work boots. “I’ll go warm it up for you.”
It’s not that cold out, and to be honest I’m the type that’s always running late so I usually get in a cold car and shiver for the first three minutes of the drive, but the sentiment behind his gesture isn’t lost on me.
Allie and I look out the kitchen window as he starts my car, finds my scraper and dusts off the few flakes that have fallen. In true dad fashion, he pulls up my windshield wipers, inspects the rubber on the blades and to top it off, walks around my vehicle and looks at the tires, in what I assume is inspecting the treads. I want to be annoyed, but it’s a level of care no one’s shown me before.
He comes back in and stomps his feet as Allie runs to him.
“All up to your standards, Dad?” I ask.
He raises a brow at the nickname. “You’ll need new tires after this year.”
Such a fatherly comment. How anyone knows what good or bad tires look like is beyond me.
“Whatever you say,” I tease, slipping my jacket on beside him.
“Hey, Allie, sweetheart. Will you go upstairs and start picking out jammies?”
I squat down to give Allie a hug. “I’ll see you again soon, little monkey.”
She wraps her arms around me quickly before padding upstairs.
Emmett watches until she’s safely up the landing before speaking. “Thank you.” His voice is low, unsure. “I’m glad you stayed.”
