Page 54 of Bookworm and the Beast
Mrs. Potts sounded younger on the phone than she did in person. Or maybe she just sounded happy.Giddymight have been a more appropriate word.
What exactly was going on there with those two?
“I see. That’s nice,” I said, bemused. “I’m glad you’re getting along so well.”
“We are. And your father’s agreed to escort me to a Broadway show tomorrow evening. He says a lady shouldn’t go out alone at night in the city.”
And my blind father would besuchan excellent bodyguard, no doubt. “Sounds like fun. Is he eating decently?”
“The man eats like a horse,” she exclaimed. “You’d think he’d never tasted home cooking before.”
Just mine.Obviously, my father was more partial to what Mrs. Potts had on the menu.
“That’s good to hear,” I said.
Before I could ask her to put dad back on the phone, she asked, “How is Jack? Is he behaving like a gentleman?”
“He’s notnotbehaving like a gentleman. I wouldn’t really know how he’s behaving actually. I haven’t seen much of him. He keeps to himself.”
“He’s hiding,” she said baldly, her disapproval plain as day. “He’s so afraid of being hurt again, poor boy, he’s shut himself down. It’s very hard for him to trust, you know. You must be patient with him.”
“It’s fine. As long as we’re civil, I can get through the next few weeks. Then I’ll be back to take care of dad, and we can both have our old lives back.”
“I wouldn’t wish Jack’s life on anyone,” she said.
“What do you mean? He’s rich and famous and successful.”
“He’s lonely,” she said. “He’s cut himself off from the world. No one can be happy like that—least of all him.”
I didn’twantto be curious. I didn’t want to know anything more about Jack—what was the point? But I had to ask. “Why ‘least of all him?’”
“It might not be obvious on first meeting, but he craves connection more than just about anyone I’ve ever known,” Mrs. Potts explained.
“He was the most affectionate little boy—once he accepted me. At first, he was too afraid I’d disappear like his mother. And he and Hunter both were scarred by the way their father behaved after their mother’s death. The man had always been a drinker, but it got out of hand after he lost his wife.”
Her tone turned wistful. “Those poor boys. Sometimes life truly isn’t fair. They’ve both had their share of fallout from it all. I think it hit Hunter a bit harder, but it wasn’t easy on Jack, either. He wouldn’t allow himself to get close to anyone, not even me. But once he finally opened up… well it’s like the old saying, ‘Some things are worth the wait.’ Once you get to know the real Jack, he’s the kindest, most loving, most generous young man who ever lived.”
“Is that so?” I found it hard to picture.
“Oh yes. When he made it big with his books, he wanted to give me an embarrassing sum of money—just give it to me—for a ‘nest egg,’ he said. I refused to accept it. So then he started insisting he needed a housekeeper to help him run his big new home. He said there was no one else he could trust with the job, and that I could set my own hours.”
She chuckled.
“I wasn’t born yesterday. I knew he was pressuring me to take the job because he wanted to take care of me. He didn’t want me to be alone. Well, when I checked my bank balance after the first paycheck was direct-deposited… I was gob-smacked. I was afraid the banker would think I was money-laundering or had robbed a jewelry store or some such thing.”
I laughed. “No one would ever think that about you.”
“That’s what Jack said. My account is so big at this point, I’d never have to work another day in my life, but I can’t bear to leave him all alone there in that monstrosity of a house. He has all this wealth and no one to lavish it on. There’s his brother Hunter, but he’s busy with his own life. Jack loaned him money to start his own business, and the boy works practically around the clock.”
“Jack mentioned Hunter and his company. He didn’t tell me about the loan, though.”
“He wouldn’t have. Jack is very private, as I’m sure you’ve gathered. Even more so after what that dreadful girl Claudia did—I never liked her. But I assure you, he’s like an oyster hiding a valuable pearl—worth the effort.”
Judging from her tone and overt praise of Jack, I had the distinct impression Mrs. Potts was attempting to add “matchmaker” to her already comprehensive job description.
“Mrs. Potts, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I can promise you, I’m thelastperson Jack is interested in. He can’t stand me. He sees me as nothing more than a nuisance.”
She said something, but her reply was muffled, as if she’d turned her head and her mouth had moved away from the phone.
