It Goes On - Book l

Good News

"I think dinner went well," Kiera chimed, laying her aching body on the bed next to her husband, tucking her head against his chest as her right hand rubbed against his sternum. "What do you think?"

"I just hope that Baler is serious about this girl. She has eyes for him, that's for sure." He replied, squeezing his arm around her shoulders.

"I noticed," She sighed. "I could tell she didn't want to go home. I think she's not being treated well at home."

"According to Baler, her parents seem to resent her. I could tell she liked being around you, love."

"I think so, too," She smiled, looking up at him, her smile growing wider when she realized that Simon was the first to start closing the gap between them, trapping her lips with his. They stayed like that for a few moments, enjoying each other's company after finally having a few minutes alone without anything threatening to interrupt them. That was, until they heard a soft knock on their bedroom door. "Mom?"

"Needy lad today, huh?" Simon chuckled in a low voice, hearing her giggle in response before she replied, "Come in, Baler!"

"Better make it look like we were just watching TV," He huffed, quickly pulling the comforter over his waist to hide his growing excitement after kissing his wife, resting the remote on his stomach when he heard Baler's footsteps coming down the small corridor that separated the bedroom from the door. "You know it's way past your bedtime, lad." Simon teased.

"Yeah, whatever," He scoffed playfully. "It's way past your bedtime too, old man, but you and I both know you and mom weren't about to go to bed. Since when do you two watch TV?"

"We were going to watch a movie even though she always falls asleep before it's even over," He retorted. "What do you need so late at night?"

"Well," Baler sighed, taking a seat on the nearby chair close to the bed. "There's a rodeo coming up this weekend that I'm taking a shot at—"

"Wait, what?" Kiera asked, sitting up on her elbows to search Baler's face for a possible lie. "Since when were you putting yourself in a rodeo?"

"I...I wanted some extra money?"

"You have plenty of money, Baler. We pay you every week. You don't need to put yourself into a situation of getting hurt."

"You didn't say that when I was playing Cowboy Poker a while back," He scoffed, ultimately glancing at Simon who had shot him a threatening glare if he were to talk back at Kiera again. "I'm just trying to help out Holly is all."

"What do you need money for?"

"She has to have surgery on her back to get a shot at walking again," He frowned. "Her parents took her off of the insurance and don't seem like they want to pay for it out of their own pocket. Fucking fudge rounds are more important."

"Lad," Simon warned. "What did I tell you about cursing?"

"Right. S-Sorry. I'm just aggravated with this whole thing. All she wants is to live like normal and she can't get a job right now because of her disability and she doesn't get anything from the state because she's under eighteen so it goes to her parents, which use it for their own benefit."

"Wow," She scoffed. "That's fucked up."

"Kiera," Simon shook his head. "I'm trying to be a decent parent and teach him not to curse in front of you—"

"All I said was I didn't want him to cuss in front of our children. I've said way worse, you know that." She giggled.

"Believe me, I know," He sighed, the tips of his fingers grazing between her shoulder blades as she was still sitting up in the bed. "Lad, I understand your frustrations and know you have strong feelings for this girl. We can help you the best we can, but know we can't just hand out money..."