And when all had seemed lost, when Jackson had started to prepare himself to accept that they were at the end of the road, Neil had approached him with the startling revelation that he had another biological child - a child who might just prove to be the miracle they needed.
“Hmm.” She took a sip of her tea, grimacing when she realized it was now tepid. “So now the real truth comes out. Daddy Dearest didn’t all of a sudden grow a conscience and realize he ought to start making amends to the daughter he abandoned before she was even born, did he? The only reason he even mentioned daughter number one was to save daughter number two. Wow. I feel so needed right now, you know? So loved and cherished and appreciated. Can’t you just feel all that love, Gilmore?”
To Jackson’s credit, he looked both thoroughly chastised and also saddened at her caustic words, and Scarlett felt just a bit of remorse at treating him so bitchily. And then she thought briefly of how rotten her life had been since birth, and how he and the rest of his family - no doubt including her loser father - probably enjoyed a very affluent lifestyle, and any guilt she might have felt evaporated into thin air.
“I’d be the first one to come out and say your father’s been a complete and total dickwad,” Jackson remarked somberly. “The way he acted when you were born, how he kept your existence a complete secret from the family. Frankly, I’ve never been the biggest fan of your father, always thought that he was something of an opportunist and only married my sister for financial gain. But he has been good to her, and my sister can be a little difficult to live with - long story. He’s also been devoted to Hannah, would do anything to make sure she got better.”
“Including spilling the beans about an illegitimate daughter he’d never bothered to tell anyone about.” She gave a little huff of revulsion. “So nobody else in your family knows about me, not even your sister?”
He shook his head. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy, too. The only three people in the world who know that Neil is your father are you, me, and him. And we damned sure need to keep it that way. If my father ever learned about you - well, let’s just say all hell would break loose. He’s, uh, something of a control freak. Actually, make that a puppet master. He holds the strings that control everyone’s lives.”
”Including your own?” inquired Scarlett smugly. ”Funny, I wouldn’t have pegged you as someone who allows himself to be controlled by anyone. But I guess that’s one advantage to not having any family. I don’t have to account to anyone for my actions, can live my life exactly as I please.”
Jackson grimaced. ”Trust me, having family isn’t always a blessing. As for my relationship with my father - let’s just call it complicated. I’m the baby of the family and the only one who even tries to defy him on occasion. If Hannah wasn’t so sick, I would have fled the coop two years ago and would probably be living in California myself right now.”
He looked almost wistful, and once again she couldn’t help feeling some small bit of empathy for him. After all, she reasoned, if what he was telling her was true and he had only learned of her existence very recently, then she couldn’t very well blame him for the crappy hand life had dealt her. Anymore than she could blame or resent most anyone else in the world who was better off than she was. She had more or less moved past that stage of her life - the stage when she’d been bitter and angry and combative, eager to lash out in resentment at those who had had an easier time of it than she had. Truth be told, it had only been the last two or three years when she had finally begun to move past all those negative feelings. And if she was being totally honest with herself, she still had her moments when she felt angry at the world, and longed to lash out in retribution.
Ananda, her boss at Cafe Santosha, had helped Scarlett learn to control her anger and resentment, insisting in a gentle but forthright manner that Scarlett meditate with her for a few minutes a day. Mostly, though, it had simply been Ananda’s calm, serene nature that had had a soothing affect on Scarlett’s fiery temperament. She and Isaiah had more or less taken the prickly, stubborn, and wary girl under their wings from the moment she’d started working for them. And except for her former foster mothers back in Las Vegas - Margie and Roz, the lesbian couple who had taken Scarlett in at the age of fifteen and whom she credited for saving her from herself - Ananda and Isaiah were the only people she had ever considered anything close to being family.
”So I guess you and I have something in common after all,” observed Scarlett idly. ”We both have fathers who are total assholes.”
That drew a reluctant grin from Jackson. ”No question about that.”
”So, tell me this,” continued Scarlett as she broke open a fortune cookie. “Number one, why did Neil pick you to confide in? And two, why didn’t the jerk come here in person? Though I can probably guess at the answer to the second part. Not only is he too much of a coward to face me himself but he probably thought a hot guy like you would have a better chance of sweet talking me into agreeing to helping out his other daughter.”
His cheeks flushed a little at her rather matter-of-factly uttered compliment. “Uh, thanks for the vote of confidence. And to answer your questions, your father approached me because he figured I’d be the least likely one of the family to punch him in the jaw and then insist my sister divorce him. There’s no question my father would have done exactly that - or worse. My two older brothers would have freaked out, too, but instead of handling the situation themselves they would have run to our father and tattled to him. Plus, since I don’t have any kids of my own, I’m the closest to Hannah. Neil is well aware of that, knows I’d do anything for that girl. And since it’s common knowledge that I actually have the guts to stand up to the old man every so often, it was a safe bet on Neil’s part that I’d keep his secret.”
“Sounds like it,” she agreed. “But what about my second question?”
Jackson hesitated before responding. “It wasn’t exactly a matter of Neil being a coward. He more or less figured that you’d be pretty pissed off if he approached you, that you might not even agree to talk to him. So he thought I might stand a better chance because, uh, well - “
Scarlett grinned, oddly satisfied to watch his discomfort. “Because he figured I was an opportunistic bimbo like my mother and that I wouldn’t hesitate to flirt with a hot guy. Sorry to disappoint you, Hotshot, but I never flirt and definitely never fall for smooth pick-up lines. Not, of course, that very many guys who look like you are interested in girls who look like me.”
He frowned. “You’re a beautiful woman, Scarlett. Very unusual coloring and features, but that’s what makes you so appealing.”
She scoffed at his compliment, even though it sounded sincere. “You have no idea how often I got teased for having red hair when I was growing up. Or how many kids I punched or kicked or bit in retaliation. Admittedly the color isn’t quite as carroty as it was when I was a kid. But I’ve never considered myself beautiful. Too skinny and scrawny, the few clothes I own look like rejects from the Goodwill bin, and - never mind. This conversation isn’t supposed to be about me. You were telling me why my father couldn’t summon up the nerve to contact me himself instead of making you his messenger boy.”