She picked up the in-house phone and pressed the number for the spa before she lost her nerve.
***
Four Days Later
Jackson was in no hurry to exit his car, given that it was already over a hundred degrees, and it wasn’t even eleven in the morning. He’d lived in Arizona his entire life, except for the four years he’d spent in college (and Los Angeles wasn’t exactly known for its cool weather), and yet there were times he thought he would never get used to this dry, intense heat. He envied a few of his old college buddies who lived in places like Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco, where the weather rarely topped eighty degrees even during the hottest times of the year. Right about now, he thought wryly, eighty degrees would be considered a cold day in the greater Phoenix area.
He’d had to dream up a plausible excuse for being away from the office today, and had hastily ducked out before his father could quiz him further. Now that Hannah was improving a bit each day, the family was spacing out their visits to the hospital. Laura, of course, was still there every single day, as was Candace. Neil always stopped by in the mornings and again in the evenings, but he had gradually begun to go back to work. And once he’d been assured that his granddaughter was holding her own, Barton had resumed much of his normal daily routine - a routine that included butting his nose into everything that went on with the firm, and trying unsuccessfully to also do the same with Jackson’s private life.
As a result, Jackson was taking even more precautions nowadays to make sure his father didn’t know too much about his life. He hadn’t been joking when he’d told Scarlett he was planning to change the password on his phone three times a day, a promise he had followed through on. He did the same to his computer at work, and made damned sure the passwords were incredibly intricate. Not, of course, that he ever used his work computer for personal email or even to surf the internet. While Barton wouldn’t dirty his own hands trying to hack into one of his employee’s computers, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t order someone else to do it - the head of their tech department, his administrative assistant, or even an outside agency. Jackson knew, in fact, that he had done exactly that on more than one occasion to both Grant and Alex, after overhearing his brothers grouse about the fact that their father “seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere”. Knowing what his father was capable of had made Jackson take extra precautions with all of his personal data, and he smiled gleefully as he thought of how pissed off and frustrated that must make the old man.
He would be able to breathe a little bit easier now, however, once he drove Scarlett to the airport and saw her off. He had been exceedingly careful to cover his tracks these past couple of weeks since her arrival in Phoenix, but he also never underestimated his wily, nosy father. With Scarlett safely back in Berkeley, he wouldn’t have to worry so much about keeping her a secret from the rest of the family. That didn’t mean, though, he wouldn’t keep worrying about her.
Without her knowledge, he had already taken a number of steps to ensure that she continued to be taken care of, in addition to the sum of money Neil had already transferred to her bank account. Not even Neil knew about the plans and arrangements Jackson had made for his older daughter, and not just because he wouldn’t give a damn one way or the other. Or tell Jackson he was being a fool to worry so much about her. Jackson had deliberately kept Neil out of the loop in regards to Scarlett so that he didn’t accidentally blurt something out that would bring all of this out into the open. He figured they were all better off - and safer - if Neil went right back to forgetting he even had another daughter.
He glanced up just as the front doors of the resort swished open and a bellman emerged pushing a luggage cart. He recognized one of the bags as the new suitcase he’d purchased for Scarlett, and reluctantly eased himself out of his air-conditioned car to greet her.
But whatever teasing comment he’d been about to make froze on his lips as he stared in awestruck disbelief at the stunning young woman who was fairly strutting out to his car. This beautiful, vibrant - Christ, was she really smiling? - female bore little to no resemblance to the tired, pale, and sad girl he’d dropped off here two weeks ago.
Scarlett had gained some much needed weight, close to ten pounds he would guess. And while she was still far too slender, at least she didn’t look as though a strong wind would carry her away. Nor were her shoulder blades protruding sharply, and those hollowed out cheekbones had filled in some. Her skin had a wonderfully peachy glow to it, and those dark circles he’d grown used to seeing under her eyes had disappeared. Those enormous blue eyes were twinkling, as the corners of that lushly full mouth began to turn up at the corners.
She’d done something to her hair, too, he mused, as she came closer. For certain it had been cut and styled in such a way that the previously unkempt curls were now subtly contained, and the red-gold locks shimmered with health. Overall, she looked well fed, well rested, and relaxed, and for once Jackson wasn’t terrified she was going to bite his head off.
She also looked sensational in one of the outfits he’d hurriedly picked out for her - a close fitting strappy cotton dress of pale peach printed with small white flowers, paired with flat soled white sandals. She looked cool, sophisticated, and startlingly pretty. Not, of course, that he hadn’t always found Scarlett’s unusual coloring and delicate features attractive. But now, between looking far healthier and happier than he’d ever seen her, coupled with good quality clothes that actually fit her slender frame, she was breathtaking.
And she was also clutching that enormous stuffed pony for dear life, as though she dared anyone to try and take it away from her. Thank God, he thought in amusement, that he’d made arrangements with the airline to store it on board.
He grinned broadly as she stopped just inches away from him. “Hey, stranger. I almost didn’t recognize you for a minute. Though I guess there aren’t too many guests here with that particular color hair. You look - ”
She waved a hand in dismissal. “Yeah, yeah. I know. Like I finally got a decent night’s sleep, and ate a few good meals. I got my hair cut - you’ll see that on the bill, along with a couple of other frou frou girly treatments – and for once I’m not dressed like a street urchin.”
Jackson’s smile softened as he took her hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “What I was going to say,” he corrected gently, “was that you look beautiful. I can tell just by looking at you how much good it did you to stay here the last couple of weeks. Maybe I should consider booking myself in for a few days. God knows I could use a break after - well, never mind. Come on, let’s load your bags in the car and head out to the airport. Plus, it’s hot as hell out here in case you haven’t noticed.”
“Oh, I’ve noticed,” she replied dryly. “Though after two weeks I have to admit I’m getting used to triple digit temps every day. Not,” she added, “that I’m not looking forward to getting back to the Bay Area and cooler weather. God, there might even be fog over the bay!”
He chuckled as he assisted her inside the sleek Tesla SUV. “So you aren’t going to miss this place?”