The Cynic and the Wolf by Julie Steimle (ebook voice reader TXT) 📕

Audry was surprised. She had thought it was a hobby which the Deacons had picked up to make them not look so bad as manufacturers.

"They have a large number of places around the US, most of which you have visited," Mrs. Gruber said to Audry, who nodded. "The ski lodge was actually a gift to the most recent Mrs. Deacon, as she loved to ski. It would have stayed an animal reserve entirely had she not seen the area and mentioned that it was the perfect location for skiing."

Every one of the staff murmured over that, agreeing it was a great place for skiing, though Audry was dismayed that Mr. Deacon had been so easily swayed by his wife. It probably had been pristine and beautiful before the change.

"'Howie is not a bad skier either," Mrs. Gruber said. With a nod to Audry, she added. "I never saw a better nature lover. Even more than his father."

Her praise seemed a bit much. Like she was trying to sell something.

But Audry was curious. Here was a woman who actually knew Rick Deacon. And she knew that Mrs. Gruber was a frank speaker who did not shy away from ugly truths, so Audry said, "Ok. But being a good skier is not the same thing as not being a spoiled rich boy. What is he really like? And don't hide the bad stuff because you think he might overhear."

Smirking, Mrs. Gruber gazed more solidly on her. "Ok. You want the bad stuff? As a kid he liked to slide down the banisters, throw snowballs at the windows, and he often snitched food from the cupboards and fridge--especially the chicken."

Audry rolled her eyes. That was just a typical boy.

"He also used to tease my son relentlessly," Mrs. Gruber added with a twinkle in her eyes. "But in a nice way."

"A nice way?" Audry echoed. "Is there a nice way?"

Mrs. Gruber nodded. "They were like cousins. Brothers almost. They played together and Howie liked mischief. And my son occasionally was a little too easily riled."

Nodding, Audry knew this was also typical of rich little boys.

"And yes, he was a famous troublemaker back in his hometown," Mrs. Gruber said. "His mother was always beside herself when she visited, because back in Massachusetts he was a little hellion, but everywhere else he was such a good kid. Just too much energy."

"A hellion?" Audry laughed. Honestly she could not quite imagine that either.

"He frequently pulled pranks on the women of the Ladies' Aide Society," Mrs. Gruber explained with a chuckling grin. "You know, poured molasses in their mailboxes and soaped their car windows."

 Audry's jaw dropped, and she flushed. Honestly, had she known him back then, she probably would have fallen for him. He fit right in with all the other troublemakers she had liked.

"Was he doing it for attention?" Audry asked, now really curious.

Mrs. Gruber shrugged, shaking her head. "I doubt it. He was a pretty independent spirit who often played alone without needing much attention. But he once confided in me that those ladies were witches--which I assume means they were mean to his mother."

"His mother?" Audry recalled that Rick's parents were divorced.

Nodding sadly, Mrs. Gruber said, "He was devoted to his mother--though not quite a momma's boy. And he worshipped his father--who admittedly really is someone... well, let's just say he gives off an aura of supreme dignity."

Audry had heard that about Mr. Deacon the Second. He was an imposing figure with salt and pepper hair and mesmerizing amber-colored eyes. Professor Jackson himself said that he was often tongue-tied in the presence of Howard Richard Deacon II.

"But the divorce devastated him," Mrs. Gruber said about Rick. "The last time I saw Howie was when he was fourteen, after the split. He was here with his father for just a few days. They showed up unexpectedly--as that is the Deacon way, and he..." The woman lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes. "He was changed. Depressed. He didn’t smile half as much. And his mischievous side had practically evaporated."

"Which could be a good thing," one of the staff whispered to another.

The other one nodded.

"And he had some rough moments a couple years ago, which I had heard about but was not given the details to," Mrs. Gruber said. Straightening up, squaring her shoulders, she then added, "But now he looks well, which makes me happy. But I would like to see him happier."

Audry nodded. Yet one curious question niggled the back of her brain. So she asked, "What was the cause of the infamous divorce of Mr. Deacon and Mrs. Deacon?"

Paling, the cook backed up and cleared her throat, returning to work. "That doesn't matter. They divorced. The point is, Howie blames himself for it."

"He blames himself?" Audry then shook her head. Sometimes kids did that. "And why do you say it doesn't matter? I think it matters a great deal why people divorce. If there was abuse--"

"There was no abuse." Mrs. Gruber cut her off, looking Audry straight in the eye so she was not misunderstood. "Mr. Deacon adored his wife. He treated her very well."

"Ok," Audry nodded, glad to hear that. "But I heard that his mother gave his father full custody and--"

Cutting her off again, Mrs. Gruber said with warning in her voice, "He kept secrets. Ok? And Mrs. Deacon had a nervous breakdown. She was under a lot of stress besides living in that town, and finding out a grave personal secret was just the last straw."

Audry slowly nodded, though she wondered what the secret had been and why living in that town was so bad. And why she had not taken Rick with her.

"And this is why I have been telling you to dump that no-good boyfriend of yours," Mrs. Gruber added, leaning near.

Audry moaned.

"You should never marry a man if you know or have a sign that he is keeping a secret," Mrs. Gruber explained gravely. "Howie rightly identified him as a player, and you know it."

Rolling her eyes, Audry decided to let that go. Mrs. Gruber was not going to give up that crusade any more than she was going to give up veganism. So she said, "Does 'Howie' have any secrets?"

Chuckling ironically, Mrs. Gruber hefted up the last food dish to the third food cart, replying knowingly, "I doubt he would marry anyone without telling his future wife everything first."

Mrs. Gruber then urged the staff to take out the food, shooing them away.

With reluctant moans, as they had enjoyed this moment of juicy disclosure (which never would have happened if Audry had not been there), they went out through the doors into the main lodge, pushing the carts. Audry had a lot think about as they left. Mrs. Gruber clearly had a rosy view of her future employer's character. She undoubtedly romanticized him, as she was fond of the guy since he was a kid. But Audry still had not seen anything to prove he still was not a rich jerk.

Mrs. Gruber started to clean up, going for the vinegar and hot water.

Thinking aloud, Audry murmured to herself, "I've only really spoken to him twice before this. There was Paris--"

"You met him in Paris?" Mrs. Gruber had looked up from the wash bucket she was filling.

Nodding, Audry blushed as she realized she had said it out loud. "On top of the Eiffel Tower." She then dug out her cell phone. "Here."

She pulled up her picture folder, dragging across a number of pictures of her with family and friends until she came to the selfie she and her friends took with Rick at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower over three years ago when he was seventeen and she was sixteen. That felt like forever ago, and she looked so different from then.

"That one is me." Audry pointed to the girl with the untamed bushy brown hair, thin, almost formless child-face, and plain as can be. These days she wore a little makeup, though it was not obvious.

Mrs. Gruber took the phone in her hands, peering at the picture which showed Rick dressed like a skater boy with a backpack--not quite his style, though it was definitely him. "You saved this?"

Audry shrugged. "It was the best pic with me and my best friends from that trip. He just happens to be in it."

But Mrs. Gruber gazed at her with genuine mocking skepticism. "You just thought he was cute."

Blushing, Audry took her phone back. "Beside the point."

Yet the head cook was grinning, gazing at Audry with more fondness. There was an almost devious thought going on behind that woman's eyes. Audry was afraid of it.

"I had a phase," Audry finally explained, averting her eyes. "I liked bad boys at one point."

Mrs. Gruber chuckled, shaking her head. "I see..."

"Ok," Audry admitted. "He's good looking, alright. And undeniably, there is something primal about him, almost wolfish--even when he is in a suit. But, honestly all rich folk are spoiled--born with silver spoons in their mouths. And he is so cocky."

"No, no, no." Yet Mrs. Gruber nodded as if enjoying this moment. "You are in severe denial. And you are mistaken about the silver spoon. Howie is allergic."

Allergic. That's right. That was one of the other rumors about the Deacon family. They had weird allergies. Like honey and... some random purple flower.

"At that conference where he signed my permission form," Audry murmured mostly to herself. "I overheard that he had a huge allergy attack there. What's that all about? Is it real?"

Nodding, sighing, and then drawing in a breath as she wiped off the wooden tables with hot vinegar water, Mrs. Gruber said, "The Deacons have several allergies, most of which could kill them. They actually eat a strict diet--which yes, requires meat."

Audry groaned not quite believing it.

"They truly are amazing people," Mrs. Gruber added. "However their allergies are their Achilles heel. It knocks them right out. We keep epinephrine in stock, just in case."

"I see," Audry murmured. Then the allergy attack at the convention center had been real. The only other thing she wondered about was the rumor about the scars on Rick's body which a classmate had seen when he accidentally ran into Rick washing and changing in the convention center restroom.

"But trust me when I say this," Mrs. Gruber added. "They are some of the most down-to-earth and genuine people I know. They would give you the shirts off their backs--sometimes literally." And she giggled over that, probably recalling a time in which Mr. Deacon had taken off his shirt for her.

For a brief second, Audry wondered what Rick looked like with his shirt off. His shoulders were pretty broad and he was lean. He might be ripped. But she immediately shook that image out of her head.  

Then adding with a fond smile, Mrs. Gruber said, "Howie Deacon is actually a sweet boy with a genuinely good heart, and you should be a little kinder to him." Then she added with a look in her eye, "He is a great deal better than that boyfriend of yours. You should trade up."

Leaning back, Audry started to laugh. "Oh no. You are not going to set us up."

"And why not?" Mrs. Gruber was genuinely grinning over the prospect. "He seems to like you--"

"That's him liking me?" Audry laughed even more, pointing towards the stairwell where he had gone.

Nodding, Mrs. Gruber said, "He'd ignore you if he didn't. And he doesn't throw away compliments."

Audry blushed. She still though him calling her pretty was just a ploy to get into her pants. "Look. I am not interested in a man like Howard Richard Deacon the Third. He's a would-be businessman. He'll be a CEO one day. That means his main focus is making money. I hate that. Besides I don't want to be married to a meat eater. When you get married you should have common values."

Mrs. Gruber cringed, tossing up her hands. "Ok. Ok.