22)

“Do you need a hug too?

She blushed and shook her head, squirming in place. I sighed. “I’m disappointed in you.”

She looked up, angry and scared, the tears flowing. “It was a accident, I didn’t mean...”

Yeah, she needed a hug, didn’t do much more then a token protest as I wrapped just one arm, teens are too grown up for two, around her and patted her on the shoulder. “I’m disappointed because you grabbed a six foot long pole arm to defend yourself inside of a house, a naginata is a outdoor weapon or maybe for a big room. If you were heading for the safe room it would only be good for poking at people in your way, there’s just no room for swinging it around in a hallway or in here, as you found out.”

She had leaned into the hug at first, but struggled out of my grip as I went on. “That’s...that’s what you’re upset about, I broke the light and made Ami break the TV...” then she made a few sputtering sounds and waved her hands around as she tried to find her words.

“Yep.” I shrugged. “I let a thirteen year old on her own with two littles to watch, she then decided to mess around with a dangerous toy, and something got broke, lesson learned for both of us.”

“I am a little upset about the TV, it was the first big one I ever bought, and you three are out of luck because it was the only one in the house. But right now your food is getting cold, so we can talk about this tomorrow if there’s anything else that needs to be said.’

I look at the three of them. “Okay kids, let’s get you feed and get the groceries inside.” I headed back downstairs with the younger two raced ahead of me, then finally Sara after she muttered something to herself and jogged to catch up.

Ami had opened the door and started carrying stuff in with Aran “Helping” by dragging in a bag on his own. “Sara, the truck is unlocked so can you get the rest of the food from the passenger seat?”

She headed out as I took the bag of sausage from Aram as he held it up to me with a proud look on his face, “Good job kiddo!”, and gave his remaining sister a look to grab the rest before he could get to them.

Sara was sufficiently subdued enough to carry in the drinks and the fatty, salty, greasy burgers without a word of protest, surprisingly she polished off a Big Mac and fries while her brother went to town on the McNuggets. Ami cut her burger in half and I snagged the rest of it with only a faint look of protest from her as I took a chomp out of it. Was she going to eat that later or something? I’ll ask next time.

Sara went to work putting the groceries away with some pleased sounds and a dark look at me when she came to the extra junk food I had picked up, which I blithely ignored.

The boy looked blurry eyed as he munched away slowly on the last of his fries. “Bedtime. Those bags have toothbrushes or do I need to break some out?”

The older two made some protests at being sent to bed at the same time as their little brother, until I pointed out “Well it’s not like you can stay up watching TV.”

Okay that was a little mean, but it did shut them up.

Turned out the bags their parents had packed included not only tooth brushes, but tooth paste, floss, some antibiotic cream and bandages, plus a thousand dollar in cash in each of their bags, not sure what they meant for Aran to do with it, Maybe is was a just in case they lost the other two bags?

I let the girls deal with getting the boy into and out of a bath, then I offered Aran his own bed in the boy’s room so he didn’t have to sleep on a mattress on the floor, but he just shook his head. Ami volunteered, “I’ll take a top bunk, so Aran can sleep in a bed.” the little guy looked over at the bottom of the bunk where his mattress had at some point been pushed back underneath with a little disappointment before nodding.

There bags also included a set of pajama each, as well as two changes of clothes. I guess I should add a few more changes of cloths to the online order.

“Pile your dirty stuff together so I can wash it, and tell me if it’s anything that can’t be all thrown in the same load.”

As the last of them got into their beds and I turned off the light, “I don’t need to tuck any of you in or read you a bed time story, do I?”

The eldest gave me a look of disbelief and rolled her eyes, while the middle one gave me a questioning look, the boy looked intrigued.

Shoot, now I’m committed.

I leaned against the side of the door. “One upon a time, when most of California was still part of Mexico, a young man named Don Diego returned from his studies in Spain due to his father’s untimely death, and found his homeland much changed…

I ended up stealing some bits from Batman, with Diego finding a cave near his Hacienda and deciding to use it as his lair to fight against evil and seeing a black tailed fox that inspired his name before Aran drifted off.

I hastily filled in something I vaguely remembered from one of the movies about horses been seized from the farmers and Zorro sneaking back after a party to the Commandant’s and setting them free to find their ways back to their owners before being chased into a barn, whistling for his horse Ebony and leaping onto it’s back from the hayloft before riding off into the night

Regardless of how badly I stumbled along, it left the girl half asleep as I said “Goodnight,” and headed down the hall, swearing to read up on the fox to see had badly I had butchered his story.

Now in the dark, quiet house, with no distractions, I began to pace as I thought about a few things.

Once is a accident, twice is a coincident, three times is enemy action.

I won the lotto, and I now had the time and money to look after some kids

I got bitten by a werewolf, and I now had the ability to protect said kids from other supernatural beings who might be looking for them.

Then my former girlfriend’s three grandchildren show up, and I just somehow known they’re mine as well.

Brianna as it turns out, is a witch. Someone with the ability to use magic to change the world around them.

“Did you do this to me Brianna?”

“Are they really mine, or did you do something to me just make me think they’re are mine.”