The Brothers Rule - Carolyn Faulkner Page 0,5

to music on the way to the ranch, which he let her pick, and she ended up playing a playlist that was a mix of pop and rock that was so good that one or the other of them—usually both—knew every song.

Her voice was good but not spectacular, which he liked because his was the same way. But they harmonized nicely on some of the slower songs that came up, and the time went by quickly and very pleasantly as he held her hand on his thigh.

It was further out than she had realized—really quite isolated—but she found the stark desert to be beautiful.

Once he pulled his blue, '57 Chevy convertible—which she had sealed the deal for him by drooling over the first time she'd seen it—into a slot in front of the expansive house, he got out and came around to open her door.

Laurie had learned quickly not to get out by herself, which she had done the first time they'd gone out, and had drawn a slight growl from him, as he'd said—warned, really—softly, "Allow me to do that for you from now on, please."

When he'd helped her out, he kept possession of her hand and brought her into his house.

"Wow—this is a big place just for you!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, it is. But I'm not the only one who lives here."

"Oh? Do you live with your parents?" she asked as he gave her a tour of the place, with its small but beautiful foyer, good-sized formal living and enormous family rooms, the big, beautiful eat-in kitchen with a pass through to the deck and large grilling setup next to the pool that was practically a second kitchen.

"No, Mom and Dad are gone."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." She touched his arm gently.

"Thank you."

"So, who all lives here with you, if not them?"

Jace brought her back into the kitchen through another door, showed her the nice-sized formal dining room that necessarily sat about twenty, then he brought her down the wings where everyone's bedrooms were.

"My two youngest brothers live with me."

She paused suddenly, as if she was thinking about something. "Oh? That's nice of you. Are they still in school?"

"No, they're both out of college now, but the youngest only by a couple years or so. He's got a degree in business, and he's not quite sure what he wants to do."

"Correction," came a voice that wasn't all that dissimilar from Jace's really—perhaps a tad bit higher, but not by much—and the owner of the voice appeared. "You know I want to help with the ranch. You just don't want me to do it," he said firmly, then he smiled at his brother's companion. "I'm Tanner." He held out his hand to her before Jace got a chance to introduce them.

"Laurie. Taggart," she offered, shaking his hand.

"All right, you've accomplished your mission and met her when you didn't really need to. Run along now, junior." Jace made a shooing motion with his hand.

Unruffled by his older brother's blatant attempts to get rid of him, Tanner continued to smile at her. "It was wonderful to meet you, Ms. Taggart. I hope I'll see you again soon." He left, and a few seconds later, they heard, "I'm heading to Luke's house."

"When will you be home?" Jace asked in a tone that sounded very fatherly.

"Oh, probably when I get home, Dad," they heard, just before the sound of the door closing.

He sighed like the put upon parent his brother had just teased him about being, but Laurie just laughed.

"He's the youngest, and he was pretty young when my Mom and Dad died, so I've been even more of a pseudo parent to him." He gave her a bit of a sheepish look. "It's a pretty hard habit to shake, even though he's in his mid-twenties now."

"Yes, but it's a wonderful habit to have," she complimented, basking in the light of his broad smile.

The dinner he made was incredibly good. He remembered that she liked her steak medium rare and served it out on the patio, along with foot sized baked potatoes, as well as asparagus cooked with shallots and garlic, and hot rolls with honey butter.

Laurie leaned back after having practically licked her plate clean. "Oh my God! That was incredible! I don't think I can move!"

He looked absolutely stricken. "But—but you have to move—what about dessert?"

She laughed. "You actually have room for dessert?"

He nodded, looking forlorn, which wasn't easy for someone of his size, she had to give him that.

"All