Scarlett was also a staunch environmental advocate, and was careful to never waste anything, be it food or clothing or any other material goods. She was constantly retrieving plastic water bottles and soda cans from the trash bin at the house, despite the warning signs she left taped up all over the kitchen, reminding her roommates to recycle and not act like the selfish pigs they were. Of course, the signs did about as much good as the threatening ones she taped to the food she left in the fridge, which meant she had to “dumpster dive” into the trash bin on a regular basis and fish out the recyclables. It would be one more thing she wouldn’t miss in the least about having roommates when she moved into her own place later this summer.
She stayed outside for more than an hour, simply relaxing on the padded chaise, and content to do nothing more than people watch. The sun had set by now, and while the air temperature was still hot, it was more or less bearable out here. The weather had been just like this in Las Vegas, she mused, one of the many things she didn’t miss in the least about her former hometown. She liked the weather in the Berkeley a lot better, where even the hottest days in summer rarely reached past eighty degrees.
When she started nodding off, Scarlett forced herself to go back inside the room, the coolness of the air conditioning startling her a bit after the outside heat. She turned the TV on, channel surfing until she found a movie she’d always wanted to see but hadn’t been able to afford a ticket for when it had been in the theater. She changed into her ratty cotton pajamas, then fished out the dessert she’d been too full to eat earlier.
But before she settled in for a evening of television and cheesecake, she scrolled through her phone one more time, just in case Jackson had texted or emailed her since the last time she’d checked. And when she realized yet again that there had been no contact from him, she shut her eyes tightly, fiercely suppressing the tears that betrayed just how weak and silly she was starting to feel about a man who would always be so very far out of her reach. And who obviously didn’t care a whit about how she was doing, or could take a lousy fucking five minutes out of his busy life to send her a two sentence text.
“Damn him, anyway!” she cursed vividly, tossing the phone on the bed. “Well, screw you, Jackson Gilmore. Who needs your false sympathy and pretty boy smile? Especially when I’ve got a Ryan Gosling movie and dessert waiting for me. Neither of which is going to disappoint me, or let me down.”
***
Jackson had warned him, more than once, that he would have to tread lightly around the very prickly, temperamental, and fiery young woman who was currently drumming her heels impatiently against the examination table. What he hadn’t mentioned, thought David Parks with an inner smile, was how striking Scarlett Strohman was, even garbed in a pale blue paper exam gown. He could see a resemblance of sorts to Hannah, mostly in the shape of the face and eyes, though even before all of Hannah’s hair had fallen out from the chemo it had never been quite so vibrant a shade of red gold, and nowhere near as curly.
David inhaled in surprise as Scarlett turned her gaze on him, those huge blue eyes both stormy, defiant, and tragic all at the same time. But while her flawless, porcelain complexion reminded him of fresh cream, he frowned to notice the sharp points of her cheekbones, and the shadows under those stunning eyes, neither of which should have been present in a healthy twenty-one year old woman.
He strode toward her briskly, holding out a hand. “I’m David Parks, Hannah’s doctor,” he told her warmly. “And I can’t begin to tell you how very, very happy I am to meet you, Scarlett. Or how grateful I am for what you’re offering to do for your - um, well, for Hannah.”
Scarlett placed her hand in his a bit reluctantly, withdrawing it after less than five seconds. She quirked a brow at him, one corner of her mouth tilting upwards in a mocking smile. “You do know that she’s my half-sister, right? I mean, I understand that I still need to remain my father’s dirty little secret from now until the end of time, but I figured they would have told you the truth. Isn’t there doctor-patient confidentiality or something like that?”
David gave a nervous chuckle, thinking that perhaps Jackson had understated just how outspoken and direct this young woman was. “There is, yes,” he agreed. “And I do know that you’re Neil’s biological daughter. A fact that will remain known to just the four of us, by the way - you, myself, Neil, and Jackson. Even the nurse who’ll be assisting me during the exam in a moment doesn’t know.”
“Hmm.” Scarlett folded her arms across her chest. “What makes you guys think the old man won’t find out about me, that I’m the donor? From what I’ve learned about him, he’s got eyes and ears everywhere, thinks he owns the whole state of Arizona.”
David’s smile quickly turned into a grimace. “Don’t remind me. But in this case I doubt that Barton will pursue the matter. It’s been made very clear to him - by multiple sources - that these sorts of donations are always, always done anonymously. As far as he’s concerned the National Donor Registry finally came up with a match. Besides, I think he and the rest of the family were so relieved to hear the news it didn’t even occur to them to try and find out who the donor was.”
“Or care,” added Scarlett with a shrug. “Tell me, Doc, is the old bastard really as evil and controlling as they make him out to be?”
David winked at her as the door to the exam room opened. “Worse,” he whispered.
The nurse who had just entered the room was on the young side, with straight dark hair and glasses, and introduced herself to Scarlett as Lydia. She took Scarlett’s blood pressure, commenting that it was a bit on the low side, and then asked her to step on the scale.
David frowned when he saw the number on the scale - much too low, in his opinion - and then gave Scarlett a brief appraisal, as though noticing her slight, narrow hipped frame for the first time.
“You haven’t been dieting by any chance, have you?” he asked in concern.
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Oh, God, here it comes. Guess Jackson didn’t warn you about how skinny I am, did he? So before you ask, the answer to all of your questions is no. I am not anorexic or bulimic. I have never intentionally tried to lose weight in my life. I am not taking any medications. I don’t have an overactive thyroid or any other sort of disease or medical issue. The reason I’m so thin,” she informed him bluntly, “is because I’m poor and I don’t always have enough to eat. I go to school on a scholarship, work three part-time jobs to pay for my rent and other expenses, and unfortunately groceries almost always end up on the bottom of the list. Any other questions?”
David and Lydia both stared at the defiantly proud young woman as she stood barefoot in the middle of the exam room, her eyes blazing sapphire fire as though daring them to say one single word.
David felt both humbled and horrified, not to mention furious that a man as wealthy as Neil Brockmeyer could have knowingly neglected this girl so badly. Just from the few minutes he’d spent in her presence, David sensed that Scarlett was both bright, sharply intelligent, and charming in her own touchy way, but also in dire, desperate need of love and attention - though she’d never in a million years admit to the latter and would fight tooth and nail at the mere suggestion.