It Goes On - Book l

Yes to the Dress

July

"What else is on the stupid list mom gave me?" Baler huffed as he and Simon both were growing tired of shopping for his upcoming school semester, being enrolled after it was official that he was a Riley. 

Simon sighed as he used his free hand to dig into his pocket while his other arm held Jacob close to his chest, "Well, did you get your school supplies like you were supposed to do when I left to go and change him?" He questioned, nodding his head towards Jacob's sleeping form against his chest while Baler pushed the shopping cart. 

"It was just a few notebooks and binders-"

"Negative," Simon cut him off as he walked around him to look into the cart, using his free hand to move the miscellaneous items around. "You have five classes. You should have five notebooks and five binders. You only have two of each." 

Baler shrugged, "It's not like I'll use 'em..."

"You better. Your mum and I talked long and hard about whether we should send you to school or homeschool you."

"I would've rather been homeschooled."

"Well, you're not. You need to be around kids your age. Being homeschooled on the ranch will teach you what you need to know outside of school, but being in school will teach you social skills and what you want to be when you grow up." 

"Not really..." Baler shrugged, refusing to take Simon's words into account. "I'd rather work and make money than go to school. I mean, you're a cop and anybody can be a cop and mom worked in a courthouse. Surely it's not so hard to get a job." 

Simon chuckled at Baler's ignorance, "You've got us all wrong, kid." 

"Then fill me in. Anybody can be in the military-"

"-I was in the S.A.S. A Lieutenant for years. Kiera was a Case Officer."

"What's that?" 

"What's what? S.A.S or Case Officer?"

"Both?" 

"Special Air Service and to summarize what Kiera was: when the FBI wanted to find someone, she's who they'd send out." 

"Damn. Is that how you two met?" 

"No, we hooked up at a bar in London," He answered sarcastically, smirking at how gullible Baler was. "We met on a mission in Mexico."

"You must have a big dick or a lot of money to have kept her around for that long," Baler poked, genuinely loving pissing Simon off, especially now that he could call him dad. "You better hurry up and marry mom before she gets bored." 

"I have both, but she kept me around because I'm not a bastard." He answered hatefully, not caring that Baler was only fifteen and shouldn't be having a conversation of that topic, but Simon figured that if he was old enough to speak crudely, he was old enough to hear the consequences of it by hearing what he doesn't want to hear.

Especially from his own dad.

"I beg to differ, dad." 

Simon would be lying if he said he didn't feel a bit of pride after hearing the troubled teen address him as his parent, imagining that soon, he'd have two more young beings calling him the same thing for the rest of their lives. He couldn't fucking wait. 

"Just go and get five notebooks and five binders," He huffed. "You already have everything else and she did the hard part by taking you shopping for clothes. We need to hurry up and get home."

"Why?"

"We're feeding the horses tonight."

"Where's mom?"