The Brothers Rule - Carolyn Faulkner Page 0,33

know if she could afford to contribute her part of all of the groceries she was going to have to buy to feed them all properly.

As if he could read her mind, Jace warned, "And, for the health of your gorgeous bottom, don't go there."

"Where?"

"I can see you getting all wound up about paying for the groceries like you were the pizza. Don't. There's no need."

"But—"

He stood and pulled her to him, asking in a low, sexy rumble, "What did I just say, darlin'?"

She had to look down from that intense gaze of his. "There's no need to get all wound up."

"Exactly. Think of it like this. You'll do the shopping and the cooking, so that's your contribution. Your time is worth just as much as everyone else's around here, but you're the only one who wants to do either of those things, both of which are of benefit to all of us." He kissed her gently. "Everyone contributes in their own way to the family pot, and that's how you can do it while you're here." He tipped her chin up. "Okay?"

She didn't look all too happy, but she nodded. "Yeah."

"And thank you for wanting to do your part."

His praise reddened her face even more.

"Well, let's go tell the boys, and after they stop praising your name to the Heavens, you can get some ideas about what they might want to eat, although I'd bet they'll eat anything you'd care to put down in front of them."

"I'd like to try to go by my apartment at some point, too, to see what I can salvage. I have a crock pot and a roaster and a pressure cooker—they'd all serve me well here if they're useable."

"All right, but you're not to go there alone." Not only did he not want her to get hurt, potentially, but he couldn't stand the idea that she might end up standing there, all by herself, in the ruins of her apartment, crying. The thought made his gut twist painfully. "Take Ryan—he'll sift through shit for you."

The man himself perked up as they made their way to the family room. "I heard my name being taken in vain?"

"She wants to go by her apartment sometime this week and see what might be salvageable. I told her she is not to go alone."

"Damn straight," he agreed immediately. "I'll take you, hon, whenever you want to go."

"Thank you, S—Ryan." She almost fell right back into the habit of calling him "Sir", which he noticed, of course, giving her a smug grin.

"You'll all be very glad to know that she's also volunteered to cook for us while she's here."

They all whooped and hollered, some even doing the "we're not worthy" bow to her.

"God bless you!" Adam grinned, pulling her into a hug.

"So, since she's agreed to do the cooking and the shopping—and, frankly, because she's unlikely to eat anywhere near as much as the rest of us do—she's not going to kick in for food. But that does not let the rest of you out of doing so. She'll give me—"

"How about me, instead, since I'm already working on the budget?" Tanner suggested quietly.

Jace looked at him for a moment then agreed, "—Tanner the bills, and he will let everyone know what they owe. She'll do a small trip tomorrow night before she comes home, and then she—and whoever else wants to go—will do a big one to one of the warehouse stores this weekend."

"Do you take requests?" Nick asked eagerly.

Laurie had to laugh at his enthusiasm. "Uh, sure."

She got loads of suggestions from them all, and with her own recipes and favorites, she had dinners all planned out for much longer than she expected to stay, and started a grocery list from there, to which everyone also contributed things they wanted or needed.

She learned quickly, after doing that shopping trip the next day and realizing that most of what she'd bought was gone in less than two days, that she was going to have to more than quintuple her recipes and utterly abandon her habit of buying only one of something or the smallest amount—at least.

Ryan arranged to take her by her place, and Adam managed to be there, even though he was on duty. Neither of them would allow her in there, so she stood outside with Adam while she Facetimed with Ryan, asking him to look for things—those cooking appliances in particular, which, by some miracle, had remained relatively untouched. They just needed a good