“Grandfather. I lived with his daughter and her family from ten to twelve years old. Brax and I had a connection and kept in touch for years. He encouraged me and believed in me when no one else did. When I had my success, it was about the same time that he was retiring from being a doctor, and his wife had passed away a few years before that, so I talked him into staying with me. He’s amazing with investments and the business side of things.” That was a long speech, hopefully it would satisfy her reporter curiosity.
“He’s not really your butler.”
“No.” Tuck smiled and shook his head. “When Johnson first met him he teased that Brax was stiff and proper like an English butler. They have a bet going when we have guests. Guess Brax won this time.”
“There’s a story behind all of your staff, isn’t there?”
“All three of them?”
“Three?” Her eyes widened and she glanced around. “Only three? How do you maintain all the property you have with a staff of three?”
He shrugged. “I pay caretakers when I’m not at one of my homes. When we’re living there we have a maid service come in twice a week and keep a gardener on staff, but all of us pitch in to upkeep the house and yard of wherever we live.”
“So the stiff outside isn’t really a guard dog?”
Tuck laughed so hard his side hurt. He never laughed like that. “Maybe Johnson won the bet with Brax after all. He’s a buddy from college. He enrolled in the Army to put himself through school, was deployed to Afghanistan for eighteen months.” He clenched his fist, not sure why he was revealing all of this. He cleared his throat and looked down, lest she see the truth in his eyes. “He saw and was commanded to do some things that scarred him pretty good. He likes to patrol the property and watch the cameras, but only uses his weapons now to hunt and pretend to be a guard when people stop by. He’s brilliant with real estate and takes care of all of those kinds of transactions for us. He’s also more social than the rest of us and gets out and makes friends wherever we live.” No reason to tell her the things he and Johnson had seen together.
“Does sweet Mama Porter cookandclean?”
“I do a lot of the day to day stuff and everyone pitches in, then like I said I have a cleaning service come in twice a week and scour the place.”
Maryn took a slow breath. “You’re not what I expected, Tucker Shaffer.”
“Is anyone ever what you expect?” Tuck wondered if she liked what she learned about him or liked her original perception of him more.
“Good point. So, tell me more.”
He laughed and shook his head. No way was she getting much more out of him than she’d already gotten. Unless she was willing to go on a date with him sometime soon. “I’ve already told you more than any reporter I’ve ever met.”
“That wasn’t tough, you’ve never talked to any reporters.”
“Good thing I liked you the first time I saw you or I would’ve thrown you out.”
“Would you really?”
Tuck had to look down. He folded his napkin and placed it on his near-empty plate. “Probably.”
“Why do you want people to be afraid of you?”
Tuck hunched over, feeling like she’d punched him in the gut. “It’s just easier that way.”
“So the mysterious, ultra-wealthy loner who frightens everyone away is really a softy who cleans toilets and only allows those he’s trusted for years close to him.” She leaned toward him and he smelled a fresh, clean scent. It reminded him of sunshine and lilacs.
Tuck lifted his hands. “I don’t clean toilets.”
She smiled. “Why keep the world at arm’s length?”
“How much of this are you going to print? You aren’t writing anything down.”
She tapped her head. “Near perfect memory. At least when I care about what I’m learning. I promise I’ll send you the article before it goes to print for your approval.”
“I really don’t want all my secrets out to the world.” His voice dropped and he should’ve been embarrassed as he said, “If you were asking for Maryn Howe instead of forThe Rising Star, I might be persuaded to reveal a secret or two.”
She tilted her head to the side. That silky blonde hair trailed over her shoulder and Tuck wanted more than anything to entwine his fingers in it.
“Are we that friendly?” she asked.
Tuck suddenly realized what a fool he was, coming onto the reporter who only wanted any dirt he was willing to reveal. He needed to get a social life. Maybe he could find a nice girl at the local church they attended on Sundays or let Johnson set him up. Tuck hadn’t dated much the past few years, but obviously it was time if he could feel an immediate connection and attraction to someone who needed to be kept farther than arm’s length.