Page 2 of Jack (Tucker’s Pride #4)

Jack was still sitting in his kitchen when the sun was coming up the next morning. If asked, he couldn’t have for the life of him said a single thing that he’d been thinking about. Or, for that matter, if he’d thought of anything at all. His mind was full of fluff right now, and he didn’t know what to do about it. He’d met his mate. And other than the fact that she was going to inherit a great deal of money—billions from her grandmother, he didn’t know another thing about her.

She’d said billions. He was sure of that. While he had money, a great deal of it too, he thought, he didn’t have anywhere near the billion-dollar mark and was afraid of what that might mean for him. Billions of dollars was something like the Fosters had. Not some little lion that—well, he was a full-grown man, but a billion was well beyond more than he would have thought that he’d get in his lifetime.

He needed to figure out where to find her. Or, at the very least, her name. When he thought about it, he’d not even known the name of the woman that his brother was meeting with last night in his restaurant. Not that it would help him overly much if she was her grandmother on her mother’s side. Then there was the—standing up, he decided to get his ass in gear before he got himself in trouble. With whom he didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to mess things up before he even got to meet the woman.

It took him an hour to get in touch with Hudson. Being a stay-at-home dad, he didn’t answer the phone very often and he was afraid to bother him with their link in the event he was in the middle of something with the kids. Jack thought for sure that he was making too much of this, but he didn’t know what else to do.

“I think that Georgie has a meeting with her today sometime. Her name is Taylor. Last night, when I met her, I could have sworn that the two women were mother and daughter; they acted that close, but they’re actually great-grandmother to great-granddaughter. Why did you want to know?” Since he knew that he’d find out sooner or later, he told him what had happened last night when he met the girl. “Mate? You’re kidding. I hate to say this to you, Jack, but she’s going to eat you alive. She’s hard and brash. But she loves her grandmother.”

“Gee, thanks. When she came into the kitchen, I didn’t realize it as I never got close to her in the kitchen until I got home and took a shower, and my clothing just appeared. That’s a sure sign, isn’t it? She’s the only stranger I met yesterday who would have had me getting that sort of magic where I can change. Do you know where she lives?” He was babbling and making disjointed statements that made him sound stupid, something else he’d never done before meeting his mate.

“Actually, I do. She lives in the same condo complex that you live in. But she won’t be there. Her grannie asked her to move in with her for a few days so that she could go over some contracts. Your mate is wealthy already, but when her grannie passes, she’ll be right up there with Ronan and his family.” He said he didn’t care about that but wanted to know why he thought that she would eat him alive. “I don’t know, Jack. You’re sort of timid. Not a sap but just someone that has to be pushed into things.”

“I’m just cautious.” His brother laughed. “Well, laugh it up, big brother. I know that I’m going to be better at meeting my mate than the rest of you were. Especially you. Didn’t you and Ivy fight right up until you were married? And I remember some harsh words before your oldest was born, too.”

“That’s when things smoothed out. We are both competitive people, and I realized that once she started taking on cases, she was smarter than me, too. I don’t remember the last time we had a spat, to be honest. I love Ivy with all that I am.” He told him that it shows, too. “I want you to be as happy as we all are, Jack, so keep that in mind when things get heated. She’s smart too, don’t forget that.”

After talking to his brother, he made his way over to the condo that his brother told him that she lived in. He’d been right. The place was in the same subdivision he lived in, yet there was no one home. Jack made his way to the address that he’d been given him for her great-grandmother. Returning to get his car, he was slightly nervous about finding the house and where the address was. It was in the posh end of town.

As he drove down the tree-lined street after turning on the one that he needed, all he could think about was how big the houses were. Counting down the house numbers, he just knew that the house that he was looking for was going to be not only the biggest one on the street but also the most beautiful.

Pulling into the gated drive had him asking for permission to enter to talk to Taylor. The man at the gate said he’d have to check but would get back with him. It seemed like hours before he came back and told him where to go. He wished he’d have changed into a suit, then decided that he was fine, like he was in jeans and a nice shirt and tie. As soon as he got out of the car, he was greeted by a gardener who told him where Miss Taylor was.

He watched her pulling carrots out of a long row of similar-looking greens. Her feet were bare, and she had on the ugliest straw hat he’d ever seen. But it suited her as did her working in the garden. Getting her attention, she pulled off her gloves and stuck them into her basket, overflowing with fresh fall vegetables. He introduced himself to her and reminded her that she’d seen him last night.

“I’m Taylor Murphy. You must be Hudson’s brother. That’s right, I remember now, I met you last night.” He said that she had. “I was slightly freaked out but getting a better handle on things today.” He followed her to the back of the house to the door. “Mrs. James, she’s our cook, is going to have a pot roast tonight, and the thought of fresh carrots and potatoes with it made my mouth water. She’s making zucchini bread too.” She looked at him. “I’m having a hard morning so far. I’m sorry to babble. My grandma is dying, and I hate the thought of losing her.”

He held her while she cried. Every part of him wanted to figure out how to make her grannie better because of the sobs that were tearing at his heart. When he seemed to have gathered herself up, she pulled away and started washing off the vegetables in the basket and talking about the weather. There were still breaks in her voice, but she didn’t seem to need him anymore.

“It’s supposed to be warmer tomorrow, but I couldn’t wait to get out here. I could spend my entire day outside and never get all the things done that need to be done. It’s wonderful too that the house is self-efficient in that it doesn’t buy fruits and vegetables unless we run out. Our meat as well comes from a ranch that we have in another county. And in all the years that I’ve been here, that’s never happened. The household also has another ranch that raises milking cows and goats for our cheese and other dairy products. I love living here more than I do anyplace else in the world.” She led him to the large garden in the back of the house. It took up an entire acre of land that looked like something his own grannie would have envied. “There are trees too that give us plenty to use as well as bushes of other kinds of fruit. The entire house is heated by the wood, too, that we cut down when it’s necessary. I love this place so very much.”

She took him to the several barns and to the other plots of gardens that had people working in them. There were long lines of flowers, fresh for the house she told him so that summer was in all the time. After they had toured the most beautiful deck that he’d ever seen, he wanted to beg to work there just so he’d have access to all the things that she’d shown him around the house. It must have taken years to get them to this point, and he wished that he’d been a part of it from the beginning.

“I didn’t catch your name.” He told her his name and shook her hand, getting a shock of something rolling between the two of them. “I’m sorry to have taken up all your time this morning. I needed it, and I can’t thank you enough for letting me go on and on. Are you here to see my grandmother? I think she was on the phone when I last saw her.”

“It was my pleasure. I heard that you were to have a meeting with my sister-in-law today. I hope that I didn’t take up your time in that.” She said that she was going to have lunch with them, he could too if he wished. “I don’t want to intrude. I only came out to…I didn’t touch you yesterday, so I didn’t know until I got home. Then, when it happened, like a fool, I sat around my place thinking of nothing but the fact that you were her. After talking with Hudson, I needed to find out—”

“I’m confused. What happened to you?” He nodded, trying his best to figure out a way to tell her when he heard someone calling out her name. “I have to go in. Will you come in and explain to me what you meant?”

“I’m your mate.” She didn’t seem to want any more explanation, so when she put up her hand, he didn’t say anything more. Following her to the back deck again, she asked him to talk to her after her meeting with Georgie was over. He didn’t know how that was going to work since Georgie would know as soon as she saw him. There were no secrets when it came to finding mates, he understood.

Georgie seemed glad to see him. Since he was sure that either she’d figured out what Taylor was to him or Hudson had told her, she didn’t say a word about them being mates. Lunch wasn’t ready, so the four of them, including Mrs. Murphy, joined them in the big office, and he watched as the two younger women got down to business. After about another hour, they were called to eat.

There was zucchini bread to go with the warmed butter and vegetable soup that was a part of the basket full of things he’d watched Taylor gather. Also, much to his delight, there were fresh sliced apples with homemade caramel in a cup to dip the apples into.

When Mrs. Murphy was finished with lunch, she asked him to join her in her gardens. He didn’t want to disappoint her, so he was ready to go look at them again. This time with her. But it wasn’t the vegetable garden that he’d already seen but the orchards as well as her flower gardens.

“We grow them for the house. There are always fresh flowers in the house throughout the year. I so love that they put them in the front hall so that a person can see them first thing. They also use some of the edible ones for salad and garnish.” She picked him one and handed it to him. “These are my favorite. They have a delicate taste that I so enjoy and the flowers are the most beautiful yellow in the early spring.”

“It tastes like cucumber.” After his excitement with the first bloom, she handed him more and had him guess the flavor. “I think that this was in our soup too. Next time, I won’t be so quick to push them to the side, thinking that they’re just there for show.”

“Do you believe there will be a next time?” Her voice was so low that he might not have heard it if he’d been human. “I’m dying, young man. And if I know my shifter lore correctly, you and my granddaughter are mates, am I right?”

“Yes, you’re right. I told her when I first got here and then she seemed to not want to talk about it.” She told him how she had a great deal going on at the moment, but she was still thinking about what he was to her. “I don’t know her well enough to know that. She’s very intense, isn’t she?”

“As I said, she has a great deal going on. I just told her the other day that I’m probably not going to make it to my hundredth birthday, and she’s dealing with all the businesses I’m going to leave her in charge of. Then there is her mother.” He asked about the mother. “I’ve asked Taylor to live with me in my final months, and she has agreed. I’m glad now that she’ll have you here with her when I pass. But her mom is none too happy with the fact that I won’t allow her to be here, too. I love Gilda Jane, but she’ll drive me batty with her flighty ways, and that won’t do any good to anyone while at this point of my life.”

“I’ve never met her, I don’t think.” Harriette, as she asked him to call her, assured him that he’d remember her if he had. “Do you think that she’ll cause trouble after you’re gone? And if so, what sort of trouble so that I can keep track of her.”

“I don’t know that Gilda Jane has enough sense to cause trouble. But that’s what will drive me and her daughter insane. She’ll be sticking her nose into business that doesn’t concern her. Whatever it will be, Gilda Jane will think that she has the best advice on things and will be like a dog with a bone in telling you how you’re doing things wrong. And she treats me as if I’m a doddering old woman who needs to be yelled at to be able to hear her. Oh, she just frustrates me to no end. And if not for Taylor, I would have turned her out long ago.” When she burst into tears, he sat down beside her and held her in his arms. She was so upset and crying so hard he was tempted to find Gilda Jane and beat the snot out of her for making this wonderful woman so heart brokenly upset.

When she calmed down, he continued to hold her. Given the chance to look around he couldn’t believe the colors and the vegetation that was surrounding him. It was enough to make his own beast calm a bit, and more than that, he felt as if he was at peace with the world here.

“You must think me to be an old fool.” He smiled and told her that he didn’t believe that she was either. “Thank you for that. I’ve had a rough few days myself, as a matter of fact. The doctor is telling me that I’m going to suffer in the end without chemicals in my body. I told my granddaughter that I wanted to leave this world just the way I came into it. With my body without chemicals and my hair on top of my head.” He laughed. It just struck him as funny that she was so furious about her needs.

While she gathered herself together, he wandered not far from where she was sitting. There was plenty for him to see, and it didn’t take him long to see that other things were growing in the garden. For so late in the summer or early fall, there were lots of pumpkins growing between the roses. Zucchini was growing along and over the fence that he was sure was meant to keep the deer out. He noticed, too, that fruits were growing along the back fence that looked to him to be blueberries. He didn’t know they would grow this late in the year.

“You’ve made me feel better, young Jack.” Jack told Harriette that it was his pleasure to be there with her when she needed it. “I didn’t realize that I had until I started sobbing like a small child. Do forgive me. I do feel much better. I guess it’s true that you need a stranger to cry on their shoulders once in a while.”

“You have me for so long as you wish.” He heard the door open and looked up to see Georgie and Taylor coming toward them. When Taylor asked her grandma why she’d been upset, she glared at him. “I didn’t do anything but comfort her when she needed it. I swear to you—”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Taylor. He was there for me when I got a bit overwhelmed.” Nodding, Taylor apologized to him. “He’s a good man to have in your corner. I was just telling him about your mother, too. And how she wants to come here. It just overcame me a bit, and he was there for me.”

“You didn’t change your mind about her, did you?” Shaking her head no, she said that he’d not do that but just gave her a shoulder to cry on for a bit. “Well, thank you for that. Georgie and I have come to an agreement. She’s going to help me bring my distribution center here with good tax cuts as well as all the employees that I need. A win all the way around, I think.”

~*~

Taylor didn’t want to talk about being his mate. She didn’t want to talk to anyone at the moment. Her head was stuffed full of things that she needed to take care of and having him around all the time was making her crazy. Well, not really. He’d been a gentleman, and it seemed like he was a good balm for her grandmother, too. While waiting for dinner to be ready, the three of them met in the living room to talk.

“I was just telling your grandmother what I wouldn’t give to have a garden like you guys do here. I could not only supply my home with food, but the restaurant would benefit from it as well. I could make my menu according to what was in season. I’ve not lived here long enough to know what’s in season or not year-round, but it would be fun to have fresh throughout.” She rattled off some of the things that she knew were in season right now. “I noticed that you had pumpkins. The things that my grandma could do with just one of them used to amaze you. Pumpkin soup, my favorite, would be a real treat with homemade bread and pumpkin log or pie for dessert.”

“You came here for what?” He told her, much more politely than she’d spoken to him, that he’d come to tell her that they were mates. “And you think that because we are, you can come into this house and demand things that don’t belong to you.”

“Taylor Ann Murphy. What is the matter with you? This is my house and my guest, and you’ll treat him with the same respect that you would anyone else.” Harriette told Jack how sorry she was and then glared at her. “He’s been nothing but a nice man to the two of us and a comfort to me.”

“I’m sorry. I’m…I’ve been out of sorts for the last week.” Jack told her that he understood and was sorry that he caused her some more stress. “I’m sure that Grandma told you that she’s dying. It’s taken all I have not to be sitting in a corner sucking my thumb.”

“I don’t know what I’d do if my grannie were to be in the same situation. However, she’s a lion, so I don’t expect her to be able to get cancer. That’s a terrible thing for anyone to have.” Her grandma agreed. Taylor looked away, her eyes filling with tears again. “Tell me about the project that you’re going to be doing with Georgie and the foundation. She said if it worked out, there would be more jobs in the area.” She didn’t want to tell him anything. Her heart was like that of late, just shutting down for hours at a time so that she didn’t have to think or be hurt anymore. “Taylor?”

“It’s going to create over five hundred jobs for the area, both before the building is put up and after.” After a few seconds she started telling them both what was going to go on and what kind of sales and such she thought that she’d be getting. “We’ll have a distribution center here that will also sell damaged items to the employees at a great discount. As well as benefits, each person will have insurance if they wish to get it as well as the foundation will provide transportation for the first six months. We both figured that it would take that long for a person to be able to save up for a car or something along those lines. But they’ll continue to help them so long as they’re showing an effort.”

She found it comforting to talk to Grandma and Jack. Leaning back in the chair she was in, Taylor could feel her back begin to relax as well as her entire body. Before she knew it, someone was gently shaking her awake. It took her several seconds to realize that it was Jack and that her grandma had gone on ahead of them.

“I almost didn’t want to wake you. You looked so relaxed and comfortable.” Sitting up, with his help, he asked her to take her time so that she’d not get too dizzy standing. She was feeling slightly wobbly and held onto his hand while she let her legs get under her again. It was then that she noticed his scent.

It wasn’t cologne. Not anything that she’d ever smelled before, anyway. But he smelled good, great even. Burying her nose into the crook of his neck, she inhaled deeply and heard his moan. Her own reaction made her body feel less settled and more carnal.

Like she needed him to strip her down and take her right there on the floor. If he had not pulled her closer, Taylor was sure that she would have done just that to him. When he pulled back, it was everything that she could do not to beg him to take her. When she looked at him, thinking that there would be humor in his eyes, she was startled to see lust from him.

His eyes were dark brown, so dark that they looked black. His hair was a tawny brown color that seemed to have come alive with her touching him. Taylor didn’t have any choice but to touch him, drag her fingers from the top of his head to his ears where she wanted to be in the worst sort of way.

“Taylor.” His voice was husky. Like dark chocolate to her with bits of spice to make her want even more from him. “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to drag you to the floor and have my way with you.”

“Promise?” Shivering when he stepped back, she had to reach for him when she had a sudden dizzy spell again. When he took another step back, she realized that they weren’t alone in the room. Baker, her grandmother’s butler, cleared his throat, not for the first time she’d bet, and took the tea trolley out of the room with him. She was both defensive and embarrassed. Before she could snap at Jack, which she knew she was going to do, he kissed her on her mouth and guided her to the dining room. As she was seated, all she could think about was how wanton she’d just acted to a near stranger.

The conversation went on around her. She knew that her grandmother was telling him about her, but for the life of her she couldn’t engage in the conversation once. Even when looked at by them both, her mind couldn’t have picked up on the conversation if her life depended on it. Instead, she ate her soup and tried her best to pay attention to the things going on around her.

“Do you have a place in mind where your plant is going to go?” She looked at Jack, feeling she should know who he was, but her mind again had gone off the rails. “Did Georgie give you an idea where you were going to be setting up?”

“There are several hundred acres that are just out of town near a smaller town. We can start building almost as soon as the paperwork it signed by the partners of Tucker Charities.” She felt good about having that much information at her fingertips. Smiling, she told him that the place would be a good place for her to be able to expand, too. “I’ve not been able to expand in the other places I’ve set up with. I’m excited that in ten years, I’ll be able to close down one of the smaller older centers and redo it to be more efficient and more up-to-date. It’s what they all need, but I’m only able to do it because of the deal that I’ve made here.”

They talked about the expansion as well as the other things that she’d spoken to Georgie about. She also told Jack that she thought that Georgie should be in charge of getting more jobs around the area.

“I think that they’ve given her that title. She’s been around here longer than we have, and I think she has a better idea of what’s going on than we do.” She thought that it was great that he was willing to admit that he didn’t know much more than a person that had—“You’re frowning again. What is it that I’ve done, and I’ll fix it?”

“Nothing. I’m still processing.” He nodded and put his hand over hers. The simple contact of his skin against hers had her calming not just her thoughts but also her heart, too. “I’m not sure what to think about you being my mate. It’s a lot to take in.”

“For both of us.” She’d not thought of how this would be to him. He’d been around mates in his family before, and she’d not. Taylor couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been on a date. When he laughed, she looked at him, ready to do battle. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but if you ask me, I’ll give you the best answer that I can. I won’t—not that I would, but I can’t lie to you about anything. I’ll never cheat on you. You alone hold my heart and soul. You will own my heart forever, Taylor. No matter what, I belong to you.”

“I don’t know what to think about that.” He told her that he could understand that as well. It was different for her, too. “Are you always going to be so nice to me?”

He laughed. It looked as if it had startled him as well, the way that it seemed to burst from his mouth. There was humor in his face and eyes, and his body relaxed a bit more. When she looked around, she realized that the two of them were the only ones in the room. Also, their plates had been cleared away, and a bottle of water was set before her.

“Your grandmother said that she was going to go to bed. She did mention that she felt better than she had in a while, and I’m happy for that.” She asked him if he’d done any magic on her. “I don’t know that I did or didn’t. I know nothing more than that. I believe that we both have more magic. At least you will have something more than me, but I don’t know what. I can change my clothing with a thought. I’m sure that you can do that as well. Whatever else you got, I haven’t any idea. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

They made their way to the living room again and sat on the couch together. Not close enough for them to touch but not too much distance between them. As they were running out of things to say, she laid her head back and closed her eyes. It was the most wonderful feeling knowing that she didn’t have to go it alone in her life.

Waking up, she was sad to find herself alone on the couch. She didn’t know why but that was the first feeling that she’d had. There was one of the blankets that was forever on the couch over her, and she snuggled down into it. That was when she noticed that there was an envelope on the table across from her.

“Taylor, I didn’t want to wake you, so I let you sleep. I’ve gone home and will call you later. No, that won’t work. I don’t know your number.” His was penciled in at the end of the note. “Have a wonderful day, and I’ll talk to you more tomorrow. I enjoyed spending time with you and hope to do it more as we get to know one another.” Then it was signed “Love, Jack.”