Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 115706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115706 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 579(@200wpm)___ 463(@250wpm)___ 386(@300wpm)
“Good job,” Caleb coos, his sparkling eyes trained on his daughter. “You’re a natural.”
He hasn’t noticed me yet. He’s only got eyes for Raine. So, I remain in the doorway.
“Like dis, Dadda?” Raine asks.
“Just like that. You want to play a song?” When Raine expresses enthusiasm, Caleb says, “I know the perfect one. Something with both our names in the title.” He pulls out his phone and begins to scroll. “It’s called ‘Fool in the Rain.’ Get it? I’m the Fool, and you’re the Raine.”
Raine squeals and bops up and down in Caleb’s lap, making Caleb laugh. And a second later, a song begins wafting from Caleb’s phone.
I’ve heard it before, I think. Maybe? Although I’m not sure who plays it.
“Keep the beat now,” Caleb instructs. “Like this. Good. Just like that. Without someone to keep good time and lay down a really good groove, a band will always suck. No matter what anyone else might tell you, the drummer is the most important musician in the whole band.”
Raine is going for it now, causing Caleb to chuckle at her exuberance. “That’s it, Shortcake. Do you like playing the drums with Dadda? That’s ‘cause it’s in your blood, kiddo. You want to know who’s playing this song?”
“Me!”
He laughs. “Yes, but I meant who’s playing the song on my phone. It’s a band called Led Zeppelin. One of the best rock bands in the history of music.”
“Oooh.”
“Can you say Led Zeppelin?”
“Blebedah.”
Caleb hoots with laughter, as I do the same. I’ve never heard Caleb belly laugh quite like this. It’s a magical, glorious sound. Quite possibly, the sexiest thing I’ve heard in my life, even sexier than the sound of Caleb gritting out my name while jerking himself off.
At the sound of my laughter joining his, Caleb’s eyes shift to mine at the door. He beams a glorious smile at me, one that sends butterflies whooshing into my belly and warmth oozing between my legs, before returning gleefully to his daughter in his lap.
“Let’s try that again. I’ll break it down. Say Led.”
“Leb.”
“Zep.”
“Zep.”
“Uh.”
“Uh.”
“Lin.”
“Lim.”
“Led Zepp-e-lin.”
“Leh Boopoodah!”
Caleb howls with laughter from the depths of his belly, as I do the same. Since there’s no reason for me to remain in the doorway any longer, I drift into the room and take a seat on the couch to watch the show.
“I’m going to teach you all about Led Zeppelin, and other bands too, including my own,” Caleb says to Raine. “And when you’re old enough, you’ll come on tour with Dadda and play a song for the crowd. Would you like that?”
“Yeah!” Raine shouts, even though she has no idea what the fuck any of it means.
When the Led Zeppelin song ends, Raine bops around on Caleb’s lap, screaming, “Again!”
“Again?” Caleb says excitedly. “Okay, cutie. You’re the boss. We’ll play our song again.”
Raine cheers.
“Only this time, now that you’re all warmed up, you have to let loose and really go for it, okay? Don’t hold back.” He presses a button, and the same song starts again, followed by another round of encouragement and instruction from Caleb.
“That’s it,” Caleb says. “Feel the music in your soul. Let it move you.”
“She’s definitely letting the music move her,” I joke. As far as I can tell, Raine’s banging her drumstick, willy nilly. Most definitely not to the beat of the song. But she’s absolutely giving it her all.
“Right?” Caleb says proudly. “The kid’s a damned prodigy.”
“A dang prodigy,” I correct. “Darn prodigy. Flippin’. Freakin’.”
“Oh yeah. Sorry.” Caleb grimaces, making me giggle at his adorableness.
Eventually, the song reaches its homestretch again, for the second time, and the singer begins repeating a refrain about the unexpected love he’s found. As he sings, it hits me I’m feeling exactly what he’s crooning about: love. For Raine. For Claudia. For my parents. And for Caleb, too. For the obvious effort he’s been exerting today. For the unexpected tenderness and pride he’s showing toward Raine. And most of all, for the email he sent to my beloved Claudia, begging to meet his daughter, mere months after her birth.
Nobody’s perfect. The man fucked up. But now I know, at least he tried to fix his mistake, much earlier than previously known. Not because Raine had been orphaned. Not because he’d received a demand letter from Ralph Beaumont. Not to save thirty grand a month. But simply because he desperately wanted to right his past wrongs and forge a relationship with his baby.
To be clear, I’m not falling in love with Caleb in this moment, obviously. I’m simply feeling love for him, thanks to our shared love of Raine. It’s important for me to remember that, so I won’t confuse the feelings gripping me for something else. Yes, I desperately want to kiss Caleb. Also, to rip his clothes off and make him groan out my name again, only this time into my ear. But the fact remains—