Strength In Our Bonds (The Strength in Generations Accompanying Book)

Daddy-Daughter Bonding

In the winters in Galbadia, the ranch that Logan worked at wasn't open for guests. Only a few people were needed to take care of the animals, so he often had the winters off. This was fine with him; he had time to rest, and time to spend with his daughter. Leiria was three years old now, and Logan loved spending time with her now because she could talk (kind of), and to him, there were few things cuter than the sound of his daughter's tiny voice.

He had her to himself this winter, since Spencer-Lynn worked in the town. Logan had quickly learned that Leiria was a very self-sustaining toddler. Once she had her stuffed Moomba and her sippy cup, she was content for the rest of the day. Or at least, until her sippy cup ran out...

"There you go, Leiria," Logan said, screwing her beloved pink sippy cup shut. "Is grape juice okay?"

Leiria nodded, taking the cup with both hands.

"Good." Logan smiled, and picked her up. "Now what do you want to do today?"

"Daddy?" Leiria poked his nose.

"You want to spend time with Daddy. Okay." Logan chuckled a little. "I had a mind to sit and watch some TV anyway. Let's go to the living room."

Logan sat Leiria on the couch and turned on the TV before sitting down himself. He turned to the world news channel- he liked to stay informed on what was going on in the world, particularly in Trabia, where his family was.

He was busy listening to the situation surrounding Esthar's trade policies when he felt Leiria trying to grab the remote from his lap.

"What... are you doing, Leiria?" he asked.

Leiria looked up at her father with her adorable hazel eyes. "Cartoons?"

"You want to watch cartoons?"

Leiria nodded eagerly.

"Well..." Logan sighed. "I guess I can just catch up on this stuff later. Let's find you some cartoons, okay?"

"Okay." Leiria held her plush Moomba close; it had been waiting for her on the couch.

"What do we have here..?" Logan casually flipped through the channels.

Once he crossed a channel with a pastel-colored cartoon garden, Leiria squealed happily. Logan took that as a signal to stop there.

About twenty minutes later, Logan found himself waking up, Leiria slumped against his arm, also sleeping.

"You wanted cartoons, but you fell asleep on me." Logan laughed. "If you weren't so cute I'd be frustrated with you."

Leiria moved a little in her sleep, mumbling baby words.

"Wake up, filha." He gently moved her.

Waking up, Leiria's gaze immediately fell to her sippy cup. She held it up toward Logan. "Juice!"

"Leiria, you still have some juice in there."

"Juice!" she insisted, holding the cup closer to his face.

"You are just like your mother." Logan laughed. "What kind of juice, Leiria?"

"Apple?"

"Apple juice for Leiria." Logan picked her up. "Do you want a snack?"

"Lunch!" Leiria said happily. Because of her father's accent, she still hadn't learned to pronounce "lunch" correctly, she pronounced it as "lanche."

"It's not quite lunchtime, Leiria. You can have a snack, but nothing heavy."

Logan sat Leiria down and opened the refrigerator to get the apple juice. Before he could put it back, he saw Leiria eating a grape from the bag of grapes in the fridge.

"Do you want some fruit?" he asked.

Leiria held up her half-eaten grape, as if she was offering it to her father. "Grape."

"Yes, that is a grape." Logan smiled, amused.

"Grape." Leiria smiled to herself, and continued to eat the rest of it.

Logan decided to give his daughter a bowl of grapes and strawberries, and her apple juice. Leiria ate happily while watching her father. She loved her daddy; to her he was the nicest person in the house.

"What now?" Logan asked. "More cartoons?"

"Outside?" asked Leiria.

"Leiria, it's 10 degrees out there."

"No outside?"

Logan shook his head.

"Oh." Leiria looked down, sadly, before looking back up. "Cartoons?"

"Let's go find some." Logan took her little hand and guided her back into the living room.