Claimed by my Unexpected Protector

Chapter Nineteen

Benny's POV

‘Wow’ Tanner whispers, his eyes widening, ‘they live on a ranch? A real one? With horses?’

I nod, ‘and cows, sheep, goats . . . they even have chickens and a donkey.’

Tanner’s eyes widen even further, his little mouth falling open, ‘they have a donkey? Like Mary and Jospeh??’

I laugh, nodding, ‘yup, just like Mary and Joseph, though none of my nieces and nephews were born in a manger thankfully, I'm not sure my sister in law would have been happy about that,’ I add, making the two boys giggle as they nod to each other.

‘So, do you live at the ranch with your brother too?’ Austin asks, also enthralled with my brother’s life, it seems, the two boys both seeming to have forgotten their shyness as they eagerly question me about the ranch and my family.

‘No, I live here in an apartment’ I reply.

‘Why?’ the older brother mutters, ‘only an i***t would rather live in an apartment than with a donkey on a ranch.’

‘Austin!’ Eralia gasps, ‘that’s rude!’

‘Sorry’ the kid mumbles.

‘Nah, he’s right’ I say quietly, glancing at Eralia and winking, a smile tugging at my lips, ‘my brother is well happy on the ranch and donkey’s a re pretty kick ass.’

‘Kick ass?’ Tanner immediately parrots as I cringe, ‘that’s a funny saying! Whose ass are you kicking? Does it hurt? I’m not sure I’d like a kick ass.’

‘Tanner!’ Liberty gasps as Eralia looks at me, her lips pressing together tightly.

‘Don’t say that mate!’ I shout quickly, ‘that’s not a good thing to say! Sorry my man, I shouldn’t have said that.’

‘Are you going to teach my brothers any other bad words Mr Benny? I said they’d get in trouble if you did’ Liberty demands as she places her hand over the smallest boy’s mouth so he can’t say anything else.

‘What do you mean other bad words?’ Eralia demands, turning in her seat, her gaze flicking from me to Liberty and back.

The little girl checks Tanner before releasing his face and crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at me. ‘Mr Benny taught Austin a bad word whilst you were getting Tanner’ she states loudly, completely ratting me out to her older sister.

‘What word?’ Eralia asks through gritted teeth, those angry brown eyes now pinned to the side of my face as I reach up and tug at the neck of my t’shirt uncomfortably.

‘It was an accident’ I start quickly, a little desperately if I’m honest as Eralia’s gaze darkens dangerously.

‘He said the F word Rali’ Liberty cuts off my awkward stammerings, ‘Mr Benny taught Austin the F word.’

‘What’s the F word?’ Tanner immediately asks, his curiosity roused once more.

‘Its . . .’ Austin starts to say.

‘Nothing! It’s nothing!’ I shout over the kid wildly, oh God, Eralia is going to kill me! Ten minutes with her siblings and I’ve corrupted two of them.

‘Austin, we do not say that word’ Eralia tells her brother firmly, the little boy slamming his mouth shut and nodding immediately, it seems none of them argue with their big sister.

‘I want to know’ Tanner whines, pouting as he kicks his feet, catching the back of both front seats.

Eralia grabs his ankles, stilling them, ‘you do not need to know young man, that word is not nice’ she tells him sternly, ‘and we do not kick other people’s things, understand?’

The youngest sibling continues to pout but just like his brother, doesn’t argue, his feet falling back into place.

Giving them all a warning look, Eralia turns back just as I turn down a long road that is lined with less than great houses. I glance around us through the rain at the unkept residences, each surrounded by cheap chain link, a few with broken gates. One or two have some effort put into them to make them look better, but you can still tell we are in a rough part of town.

As we travel further along the road, following the arrow on my satnav, my frown deepens. They live here? Eralia? The kids? They live here??

‘You can just drop us here’ Eralia states suddenly, drawing my attention back to her, finding her back ramrod straight as she stares out of the windscreen. She lifts her hand, pointing to a house just up ahead, ‘here’ she adds.

'The satnav says it's still a way down . . .' I start before she cuts me off, smiling widely.

'Oh, that's odd, but no, this is where we need to be dropped off' she replies.

‘Soooo, you live there?’ I ask, looking at the slightly better kept house that at least has its entire fence attached to the poles, unlike others we've passed.

‘We don’t . .’ Tanner's quiet voice pipes up from behind me.

‘Yes’ Eralia practically yells, glaring at the little boy as his mouth shuts once again. ‘We live there, thank you so much for the ride Benny.’

I reluctantly pull over, Eralia throwing open the door and climbing out as soon as my tyres halt, pulling open the back door and hauling out the kids in record time.

‘Say thank you to Benny for the ride’ she orders, the three kids parroting her words immediately.

‘Uhh no prob . .’ I start as the door is slammed and Eralia herds the children back from the truck, waving to me to get going. I cancel the destination that still says I need to keep going, putting in my own address. Pulling away from the edge of the road, I do a three point turn in the road, before I set off back the way I came. Glancing back at the four figures in my rearview mirror, I frown as they stand in the road, none of them moving as they watch me. Something feels weird, but as I go to brake, Eralia lifts her hand, the one not holding on to Tanner, and waves goodbye, before she and the kids turn around, and start to walk, heading for the house Eralia pointed to. I can just make them all out, four silhouettes now standing by the gate, rain pelting down on them, about to head in when the road bends and they are out of my sight.