Chapter 11
Dorian
“No, they’re different types of cabbage.” I could see why he thought they were another form of lettuce, but the incredulous expression he was wearing had me fighting to keep a straight face. “I’m not sure if they’re from different parts of the world, but we can look that up.”
We had a growing list of questions in the note app on my phone and I couldn’t tell if it was getting ridiculous or if he was just highly intelligent and had been held back on what he could learn.
Maybe both?
As I pulled out my phone to add the cabbage question since we hadn’t finished setting his up yet, Emeric made a startled sound. “The coleslaw stuff at KFC?”
Scrunching his face up as I nodded, Emeric glanced back at the clearly concerning vegetable. “That’s gross. It’s soupy but it’s not soup.”
So a mayo or dressing problem not a vegetable problem?
“You said you like bacon, so what if we cooked it with bacon? It wouldn’t have that dressing. We’d fry it in a pan with just the bacon and some spices.” Coleslaw wasn’t my favorite way to eatit either, but he had a stronger reaction. “It can also go in actual soup, and if we cut it up small, we can put it in a lot of things.”
Hmm.
“I think we need to make sure…Braun is getting enough vegetables. His diet seems to be nothing but coffee and the desserts that have been randomly showing up.” I had good enough logic that Emeric sighed. “Have you heard any rumors about that?”
He’d done a wonderful job of immediately integrating himself into the pack, and I had a feeling it was part personality and a lot deliberate. Emeric was smart enough to know that if he counted as pack no one could take him away.
I just wasn’t sure what being pack meant or who he’d been running from.
“There used to be a schedule but the kids I was playing with said their parents were acting weird.” Emeric shrugged when I raised one eyebrow and picked out a cabbage. “Adults are weird a lot.”
“You have a point.” I was weird sometimes too, so I couldn’t deny it. “We’ll figure it out together. Braun needs our help.”
Even a werewolf needed more nutrients than he was getting.
“We’ll figure it out.” Standing straighter, he glanced around and gave the vegetable section a serious study. “What else has good vitamins in it?”
Adorable.
“We’ll make sure to get a variety and grab different ones every time we go shopping. Let’s get some stuff for a salad too because we got the rest of the food for that and then…and thenwe’ll figure out something to do with potatoes. Those are always good and you can do a lot of different things with them.” And worst-case scenario I could teach Emeric how to microwave one for a quick meal.
We’d already gone through the middle section of the grocery store so we had a few easy things to cook, but if it came between picking something simple and something made from scratch, he chose the real food every time.
That was going to be a pain the ass at the end of a long day, but I was good about reminding myself that we were starting healthy habits.
“We have a plan.” He was very proud of that, so I nodded and directed the cart toward the other vegetables. “You’re doing a good job of taking care of him.”
“Thank you.” Was there a better response to that? “But I’m fairly certain you could take care of him better than he’s doing at the moment.”
The bar was set low and Emeric’s snicker said he knew it.
“He’s good with other stuff and my grandma used to say Alphas like to have someone to take care of them. She said it made them feel important.” He glanced over at me in a not-so-subtle hint about who he thought should be taking care of Braun. “They’ve got to feel important and we can do that.”
I wasn’t going to argue with him because I had no idea where I’d even start, so I pointed to our nearly overflowing cart. “Starting with feeding him.”
That was going to be a job in itself.
“But I’ll teach you how we can cook meals in big batches and freeze some of it to make things easier, and Braun actually haswhat looks like a brand-new slow cooker in a box in that junk room upstairs. So we’ll use that to make it easier too.” Braun hadn’t said if he could cook or not, but he didn’t seem like the type to spend all day working and then make a big meal when he came home.
“Do you think he’s been living off takeout or delivery?” What else had he been eating? “Even he needs more than coffee and brownies.”
Emeric shrugged as he leaned over to study different types of onions. “One…kid mentioned that they don’t have a lot of restaurants close by, so they might not have anything that delivers?”
