Bound to Forever - Book ll

New Start

"Momma, where's daddy?" A curious Evie asked as she looked up at her mother, her favorite teddy bear gifted by her Uncle Price tucked under her arm.

"He's in the office, sweetheart," Kiera smiled down at her, wiping her palms on her apron after taking the glassware containing her homemade meatloaf from the oven. "Wanna come with me to tell him dinner is ready?"

With a smile, Evie nodded. "Where's Jacob?"

"Sweetheart, don't you remember you and your father taking him down to the barn because he wanted to spend some time with Dirk?"

"...Oh," Evie giggled. "When is he coming back?"

"I told Dirk to bring him up when he comes to eat dinner with us. Won't be long now," Kiera explained, removing her apron before taking Stella out of her bassinet and keeping her close to her chest. "Let's go tell dad that dinner is ready."

Once the mother-daughter duo made it up the stairs, Kiera couldn't help but giggle when she heard her husband on the other side of the closed office door, his tone clearly aggravated as it was clear the other person on the receiving end was his dear friend and brother in Arms, "Johnny, you're wasting time! What the fuck?!"

Though Kiera didn't hear Johnny's response, she knew that they were in their typical and playful banter. The last year had been quiet since everything happened, leaving a lot of time for grief and healing, but also leaving the new family with new adjustments. Simon still held his job as a police officer, doing immaculate – per usual, as Kiera says – but now taking less than fifty hours per week to spend more time with his family.

The major adjustment within the family was having no time to decompress in one's own personal way. Simon wanted to spend every waking second with Kiera and the kids, but he would be lying if he said he didn't feel suffocating even though Kiera would always say that he wasn't to her or the kids. Due to Simon expressing his concerns with his best friend, it was then that Johnny invited him into the world of gaming.

And no, Simon nor Johnny turned into an avid gamer spending hours on end playing a video game or streaming, but a couple of hours every Thursday night to take a break from the harsh reality they all lived in. Johnny had been introduced to gaming by Baler, and since Baler's death, the word Xbox had been a harsh reminder at how things can change within a blink of an eye.

That reality hit Simon harder than anything. Baler went from a troubled, scared young man who had a short fuse to a kid who was given an opportunity to be better than he once was and still made a fatal decision that cost him his life – his life being taken by the very man who gave him a second chance.

Even though Baler had been gone from this world for a year, his bedroom still remained untouched.

So much in fact that Simon bought his own Xbox and game to refrain from taking the one in Baler's bedroom.

His door remained locked with the belongings of a loved young man who had so much life ahead of him trapped in time, leaving Kiera to always wonder when he would come back home, choosing to ignore the fact that the last time they were together, he had held her at gunpoint during a high-speed police chase.

Simon sat in his office chair, relaxed deep into the chair's leather and his legs extended with a pair of Apple headphones in his ears, his gaze on the television screen as he was reliving his time in the military by playing Battlefield – his teammate in the game being none other than Johnny himself.

"Hey, love." His eyes softened when he realized Kiera and Evie entered the room.

"Daddy!"

"Logging off, Johnny. Dinner's ready."

"Talk to you later, L.T. Good game." Kiera heard Johnny reply through the headphones Simon had just taken out of his ears.

"What's my perfect little angel doing at this time of the evening, hm?" He hummed, smiling as he picked up his growing daughter and sat her on his lap.

"Momma wanted to tell you that dinner was ready!"

"Is that right? What's for dinner, lass?"

"Momma made meatloaf, mashed potatoes, macaroni, peas, and I helped her make dinner rolls!"

"Sounds delightful, love," Simon smiled, his eyes softening when his eyes fell upon his wife. "Is Dirk coming up for dinner tonight or do I have to get Jacob from him?"

"He's coming up tonight," Kiera nodded. "You're still off this weekend, right?"

"Yes, but I go back on Sunday night."

"That's right, I forgot about that."

"Have any plans?"

"I do, actually."

Do I know that grin... She's up to something.

"Would you like to fill me in on these plans?" He arched his brow with a grin.

"It involves a truck, trailer, and a morning coffee run."

Yep, horse auction.