60)

My son decided to be the one to outright ask me. “Dad, are you going to be okay with this?”

It would have been nice to have a chance to think it over, but I had four sets of eyes, one of them pleading, all looking at me.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “I just got the place, and anyone else... Well, anyone else I could now toss out on their butt if they started trouble, but from what I’ve heard of those two...”

Seeing the disappointment beginning to emerge the younger girls eyes. I decided to give in. Worst came to worst. I had a lot of insurance on the place, it’s contents, and both a lawyer in the family as well as enough money to make it clear that I could afford to fight my insurance company as long as it took for my payout. In full, with penalties.

“The place is yours for as long as you need it Ami. For whatever reason. I always meant this to be a place for my family, but I had been thinking more in terms of a holiday and vacation spot. Not the grand conclave of the two dynasties.”

I waved my finger at her. “Next time you want to have guests over, make it a sleepover or something.”

She rushed over to throw herself into a hug. Her little back all bony under my hands, her tiny heart beating away. She was way too young and small to have to bear up under the pressure of two families.

The first witch of her generation, in the line of a Witch queen, what ever that meant. Then the weight of her entire other family's hopes. Me, I would just have to be the one to offer my help rather then burden her.

If I was to lose my home because of the ill tempers of one or both of the old gits. So be it. I only had this place due to the interference of the girl’s grandmother. Easy come, easy go, and I still had plenty of money for a more conventional home.

I heard an electronic click and looked over to see the aunt with her phone out taking a picture, she grinned up at me and then looked to her started niece. “I’m sending you a copy Ami.”

She didn’t offer one for me, but I’m could finagle a copy later. I certainly wasn’t going to ask.

I addressed the room. “So how are we going to go this?”

My son must have already been readying a plan. “Very slowly. Rose will talk to her mother and tell her about the bribe to try to sell her on at least coming to a meeting, since talking itself concedes nothing. While Yuki will work on her great grandfather since nothing can move forward without anyone talking to each other.”

“We will be coming there so no one can claim that leaving them with you isn’t enough protection, or that they have a greater claim to guardianship.”

That got the kids excited. They had gotten used to me, but I wasn’t their mom or dad. I admit I was a little excited as well. Also, nervous. My kid, but not a child.

It had been easy for the kids to get used to me. Children just want to be loved. But other then the kids, what real tie would this man have with me? I was just the guy who knocked up his mom and looked after his kids for a while.

Now he was coming to stay with me. Would he think me an old fool for how I had spent this money, or worse? Would he see me as the old man that he just had to wait out a few years to get a fat payday?

Even worst. Was he going to have a get together here with all the warring faction, and then take these kids out of my life? Or even just up and vanish to protect them from both families?

What if that was the best thing for them?

…

My son was still talking. “Rose, make sure you tell your mother about John being a werewolf, and that I told you to tell her. She knows that I know they can be mesmured pretty easily, and it will drive her crazy that I want her to know he’s vulnerable. Trying to figure out why I wanted her to know might be enough to get her here all by it’s self.”

“Both your mom and Yuki’s clan head will want to make demands to throw their weight around setting this up, which means we might be able to drag this out until Ami is old enough to drive. And the older she is the less they can mess with her head if they get a hold of her.”

He paused “...is it going to be okay for me to show up there Dad. I don’t want to assume, and I know this had got to be... all sort of tangle up in your head as badly as it is for me.”

Heh, “We’ll figure it out as we go son. It’s not like I would ever turn you away. Maybe make an overly emotional welcome to embarrass you in front of your kids just to mess with you. But no rejection.”

He laughed. “Seriously, you’re not going to do anything to make it weird are you?”

I ginned at the phone, and slowly shook my head. “No. Nooooo. Just a steady handshake after your kids calm down a bit. It’s not like I’m going to put up a banner or something. Call me back when you have some details.”

I reached over to the phone. “I’m going to take you off speaker and let you talk to the witch.” I pressed the button to return the phone to normal and handed it off. “You caught us at lunch, so I’m going to take the kids back to the kitchen to finish eating. When you’re done talking to my son, please bring the phone to the kitchen so they can say goodbye.”

Ami crept in for another hug, so I kind of had her attached to my hip as I led the parade out. Sara gave a suspicious look to her aunt, before she reluctantly followed along as Aran took her hand to led her out.

“Sorry kiddo, but they can’t really have a serious conversation about you with you still in the room.”

She gave me a surprise look, which quickly turned to one of concern. “You really think they're going to talk about me? Wait, are you messing with me? Seriously, am I going to be in trouble?”

I made a dismissive sound and waved my hand at her. “Don’t worry about it. I can have you do chores to pay off the damage to the car. You could have it all paid off by Christmas.”

She glared at me, but I could tell she was still concerned. I made a mental note to let her off the hook before bedtime. I wanted her distracted, not obsessing.

The girls just nibbled at their now slightly dried out sandwiches. Aran tucked into his peanut butter, jelly and banana.

Mine was a little unpleasantly cooled off. The peanut butter had lost the heat from the formally freshly toasted bread, and the jelly had lost it’s chill. Still good, but now I had the lack of perfection to blame on the witch as well.