Most Eligible Wolf, Julie Steimle [important of reading books .TXT] 📗

brightly, as if it were a dumb question. “Plenty of times. You could say he follows my friend Rick everywhere.”

Was Tom serious? Audry could never tell. He always had a manic, mischievous demeanor about him, as if everything in life was a joke—and not in the cynical way. More like he was Loki, the god of mischief.

But Audry was dismayed about what Tom had said also. And it disgusted her as it confirmed a suspicion she had had. “Is it a pet? I’ve heard rumors. It’s a major theory.”

Bursting out into a manic and doubting cackle, Tom shook his head as the rest of him seemed to weaken from amusement, his knees bending. “No. No. Trust me. Rick would love it if the wolf left him alone. But, uh… you could say that wolf is his curse.”

It really amused Tom, too.

But what a thought. The wolf followed Rick? Had his family rescued it and it just kept following them? That would be a problem, especially if they were going into the city and the wolf followed him there. And worse, people thought that wolf was Rick—as a werewolf. Proximity to Rick could get it killed.

Tom sopped up the rest of the smoothie from off the table and the floor. Dunking then end into the bucket, he prepared to roll it back where he had gotten it from. Yet before he did, he shot Audry a short look, paused, and said, “Tell me, I heard Rick can’t control himself near that woman. Is that really true?”

So Tom hadn’t known about that Daisy either? Or was it that he just had not met her yet?

And Audry did not want to answer the question. She was disappointed in Rick enough as it was. However, everything Daisy had said about Rick being a sucker for her pheromone-enhanced smell had been proven to be true.

“—‘Cause I’ve never seen him like that,” Tom explained with solid respect for his old high school roommate. “I mean he is the master of self-control. I could torment him for hours trying to upset him, to get him to laugh or shout at me, and he was like… he could ignore anything if he wanted.” Tom then pensively re-thought that. “Well, almost anything. If you insulted his mother, he tore you apart. But I have never seen him horny.”

Those in the booth choked.

“And he dated my ex—you know.” Tom shook his head. “I mean Selena was like… like… like wow. Super fine. She still is, dammit.”

Audry glanced at him sideways. So the breakup had been real. Too bad.

“So tell me, as a scientific observer that I know you are,” Tom asked seriously, “what would do that to him?”

Audry cringed. Her mind was still blown by what she had seen that morning. Her thoughts went to the balm which Daisy had chucked somewhere. But thinking about it more, Audry was not quite ready to tell Tom about it. If that guy knew such a thing existed, with the mischievous side she knew Tom had (just like that Randon guy), he might take it to tease Rick with. And for once, Audry did not want to see Rick punished in such a way. It was bad enough watching him melt for that slut Daisy MacTire.

“He’s just… not that kind of guy.” Tom shook his head, his thoughts apparently in an odd sort of turmoil. “You know he used to date my ex-girlfriend before she and I were together, back when we were in school, right?”

Audry nodded. “Everybody knows.”

Tom chuckled, wondering on the word everybody. It was an exaggeration. Only people who read society columns and cared what the Davenports did knew.

“Well, anyway, Rick helped get her and me together,” Tom said with a sigh. “I owe him for trying.”

Audry stared.

“But he was never interested in her,” Tom said shaking his head in wonder why Rick wasn’t. “And I knew he wasn’t gay.”

Audry snorted, because she had once assumed he was gay because he didn’t flirt… well, not with her. Rick teased her. 

“You know he is fun to tease,” Tom chuckled, his grin crooking up again. “I always enjoyed trying to take the rich boy down a notch, but the guy is difficult to rattle, you know.” Tom then smirked at her, pointing. “You and I are a lot alike in that. It’s a fun game, isn’t it?”

Audry colored. He could see that in her? Perhaps it was a knee-jerk reaction to want to deliver zingers at Rick Deacon. He just always seemed to have it so easy. No one deserved to be as wealthy as his family.

“I just never expected that girl to be his type.” Tom pointed in the direction Daisy and her pack had gone.

“No?” Audry chuckled, thinking Daisy was actually most men’s type if one just looked at the physicality of it. She was blonde, busty, thin, but with curves, a pretty face, and she wanted to get laid. She seemed that easy at least. “What is his type?”

Tom thought about that for a second. Then he shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “No clue. He never had a girlfriend that I know of—not even really Selena. He’s kinda picky. I’ve seen him take girls on dates to make them happy, but he was never emotionally involved. And his crushes are so different from each other, you know.”

Were they? Audry didn’t know them. But then Audry nodded, thinking about Jessica.

Tom laughed, nodding. “Yeah… he crushes on other guy’s gals sometimes.”

Quickly whipping her eyes to him, flustering, Audry wondered how he knew that was what she was thinking. It was freaky. It had been a snarky rude thing she had been tempted to say, but she had held it in. But the gist of the thought was something about how Rick was a bit of a girlfriend stealer.

“But he would never actually cross that line, you know,” Tom said and sighed. He then eyed Audry. “Are you coming to that wedding, by the way? I heard you were Jessica’s friend.”

He heard? From whom? Rick? Did Rick know she and Jessica were close friends? Audry hadn’t known Tom knew Jessica. She started to wonder if all Rick’s friends knew each other.

“I met her once,” Tom said without waiting for an answer, smirking. “But I went on a trip to China with her soon-to-be hubby—Andrew, so I know him better.”

Oh, Andrew must have told him. Rick’s best friend. Audry had never met Andrew Cartwright. She only knew what Jessica said about him—the good and the bad. She wondered about him.

“He’s got a stick up his butt, and an all-American hero attitude,” Tom laughed as if reading her mind. “Practically Captain America. Rick worships the ground he walks on though.” And Tom laughed more as if he thought that was the stupidest idea.

Now Audry really wanted to know what Andrew was like. It was a shame she could not come to the wedding. And she said so, “I was invited. But I’ll be in Africa then.”

Tom nodded, sighing. “I think they are thinking about disinviting me. Rick mentioned that Andy’s grandpa, the pastor, might exorcize me or something if I cause trouble.” And he laughed more. He was about to leave again with the bucket when he said, “Oh, that’s right, what I wanted to say was—I bet Rick and Andy have similar taste in gals. But then he winked at Audry. “Why don’t you date him?”

Audry choked, laughing in complete disbelief as she most definitely had not expected that one. “Are you kidding me?”

With a mirthful shake of his head, Tom replied, “Not at all. He seems to like you.”

Another hush settled around the booth, many listening in. Those in the booth shared scandalous glances, all interested in this new gossip.

“Oh. My. Gosh.” Audry raised her hands in protest, hoping everyone saw. “No. I’m a vegan and he—”

“Is a diehard meat eater,” Tom laughed, slapping the table and nodding. “Especially chicken.”

“Exactly.” Audry nodded, huffing.

“Ok.” Tom shook his head, carrying off the mop. But again, before he left, he lurched once more to a stop and said, “The thing is, if he has a type, it is smart gals. And you’re smart and pretty. And I’d like to see him happy.”

He then winked at Audry, trotting off.

Audry felt blown over by the tornado that was Tom Brown.

Her. Smart and pretty? Not that that was wrong or anything. It was just such a bland compliment. It wasn’t the same as Tom saying Selena was “wow.” Or even Daisy saying Rick was “WOW”. Clearly she was not “wow” material.

Mildly insulted by that, Audry shook her head and went back to straightening up the booth for customers.

It was over.

With the ‘pack’ gone, the feeling in the booth was so much better, and more people came by it again. Audry was amazed at the difference. All of those people truly had a presence, as did Tom Brown and Rick Deacon himself.

A short while later, Audry noticed Rick walk out of a hallway with his friend Randon, Tom and Matthew who was in plain clothes and not dressed as a cop. A cop would have been useful.

Tom, Audry noticed, was waving one of her tee shirts in Rick’s face, saying something.

Rick’s voice carried. “Would you please burn that? I am not wearing it!”

Hearing him, Audry stiffened.

The smug, snotty, conceited, pompous, arrogant, big-headed, egotistical, pretentious…

Tom sang back at Rick, laughing and still waving that shirt in Rick’s face. She could barely catch the words, though Tom was not singing them quietly.

“You’re… too sexy for this shirt… too sexy for this shirt… So sexy it hurts!”

“Shut up!” Rick growled back. He glanced once at Audry’s booth and colored. He quickly rushed away.

Matt looked back also, grinning, then waved.

But they were soon gone.

“Wow,” someone murmured, staring up at the wolf tee-shirts.

Lowering her eyes from where Rick and gang had gone, Audry gazed at a new patron. “Hi. Do you want to buy a tee-shirt?”

The young man nodded, his amber eyes stroking over the shirts longingly. But then he shook his head. “Uh. I don’t actually have money to spare.”

He had a solid, well-earned tan and a gentle drawl to his voice. For a second he reminded Audry of those other folks with Daisy.

“These are amazing,” He murmured. “How’d you get close enough to that wolf to take that picture? Was it a telephoto lens?”

Grinning, glad the topic could go back to regular things, Audry said, digging up a pamphlet. “Actually I took this photo when I rescued this wolf. We do animal conservation, and I am currently working on a project to take us to Africa. The proceeds to the tee-shirt sales go to funding the trip.”

The guy nodded, staring at the shirts. He then said, “Do you got anything for a dollar?”

Audry pulled out the post cards.

Reclaiming the Lost Ones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Seven

 

 

Who in the world was that guy? That Tom Brown!

He said he was a friend of Rick Deacon’s, and he even said Rick had told him to drive them away from that NYU booth—that he was protecting that woman there. But Rick was their friend. He wouldn’t do that, would he?

Daisy was furious of course. She hated the very sight of any girl who could be competition for what she wanted. And she wanted Rick.