“I didn’t say that. There’s plenty I’m going to miss about it. The huge ass bed, the walk-in shower, the cable TV with a bazillion different channels. And that’s not counting all the food at all hours of the day, being waited on hand and foot. And can’t forget the pool. It was amazing being able to swim twice a day. Thanks, uh, for picking out bathing suits that well, covered things up.”
“You’re welcome,” he told her. “Though I honestly think you’re too sensitive about the scar. It’s really not that noticeable, you know.”
Scarlett rolled her eyes as he drove out the front entrance of the resort. “Maybe not to you, but I’m very well aware of it.”
“If it bothers you that much, why don’t you look into having plastic surgery?” he suggested. “Maybe not now, when you don’t have very good health insurance. But in a couple of years, after you land a good job.”
She shrugged. “Maybe. Doctor Parks mentioned the idea to me as well. But I’m not sure how I feel about spending that kind of money just on my vanity. It seems awfully wasteful.”
“It’s not the least bit wasteful if it helps you feel better,” he assured her quietly. “And if it might help you forget about how it happened in the first place. I mean, I’m guessing that memory will always be with you to some degree, but not having a permanent reminder - well, it’s got to be your decision, of course.”
“We’ll see. How’s Hannah?”
Jackson didn’t argue the point further as she firmly changed the subject. He gave her the latest news on his niece, touched that Scarlett asked about her so frequently and seemed genuinely concerned about her progress. By contrast, she hadn’t mentioned her father even once, and Jackson guessed she never would again. Sadly, he realized, Neil probably hadn’t given his older daughter a single thought ever since the bone marrow harvest had been successfully completed, and was likely breathing a sigh of relief to have her out of his life again.
They chatted amiably on the ride to the airport, a marked difference between the drive out here when Scarlett had been sullen and uncommunicative and just plain sad. Now she was alert and engaged, her blue eyes sparkling as she smiled and laughed at frequent intervals. All the while her beloved pony - whom she’d primly informed him was named Penny - sat on her lap, nearly enveloping her with its size.
Jackson eyed the stuffed toy warily. “Where the hell are you going to fit that thing in your little attic space? I mean, I know you’ll only be there another month or so, but have you thought it out?”
She shrugged. “Who knows? I’ll figure it out. But where I go she goes.” She nuzzled her nose into the pony’s soft gray fur. “Thank you for this,” she murmured quietly. “Out of all the nice things you arranged for me, this might be the one that means the most. Oh, I know compared to everything else she probably cost the least amount of money. But it meant a lot to me, Jackson. Silly, I know, since I haven’t been a little girl in a long time. But I never had nice stuff like this growing up, would have been too afraid of one of the other foster kids stealing it or destroying it. So - thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” he assured her, deeply touched by the sincerity of her gratitude.
She was silent after that for long seconds, and he guessed she was already regretting showing him this vulnerable side to her. No big surprise there, he reasoned, considering how many years she’d spent having to act tough and not display any signs of weakness. Tactfully, he changed the subject.
“Speaking of finding your new place,” he ventured. “I have a friend - really more of an old college buddy I haven’t kept in close contact with - who lives in the Bay Area. Not sure if his office is in San Francisco or somewhere in the East Bay. But he’s in real estate and property management, and I’m sure he’d be willing to help you find something. Should I give him a call and ask him to get in touch with you?”
Scarlett shrugged. “I guess so. I mean, I had just figured on looking for vacancies online and taking it from there. But it wouldn’t hurt to have someone with experience helping to look for a good place. Make damned sure, though,” she cautioned, “that he knows what my budget is. I’m not about to blow that whole amount I had to pry out of my father on rent. I want to have a little nest egg once I graduate. Depending where I get an internship, I might need some of that money for relocation expenses. And I want a studio, Jackson, nothing bigger, preferably one of those tiny apartments I keep talking about. I can’t afford to buy furniture for a one-bedroom place.”
He nodded reluctantly. “Yeah, I got all that. I just wish you weren’t serious about buying used furniture from garage sales or, worse, picking free stuff up curbside. You don’t have to spend a lot of money, Scarlett, but you also shouldn’t have to live like a bum.”
“Whatever. That stuff doesn’t matter in the least to me. I’m used to living like a poor person, because that’s what I am. Even when I lived with my foster mothers in Las Vegas, I slept in their home office on a futon because they didn’t have an available bedroom. Didn’t care, though, because that was the first place I’d ever felt safe in. I would have slept on the garage floor in order to stay with them.”
“Are you still close with them?”
“As much as I can be,” she replied, her voice tinged with what sounded like regret. “I text or email them at least once a week, but they’re both busy, too, between working and taking care of their remaining foster kids. They want to retire in a couple of years, so they’re trying to put aside as much money as they can. Margie and Roz - well, they’re two of the best people in the whole world. They saved my life. Saved me.”
“Hmm. When was the last time you paid them a visit?”
Scarlett shook her head emphatically. “Uh, uh. I won’t go back to Vegas. Not unless I’m dragged there kicking and screaming. Bad, bad memories of that town. Margie and Roz know it, too, so they’ve never pressured me to come visit. Fortunately, once they retire, they plan to get the hell out of there, too. That’s when I’ll go see them.”
The exit for the airport came up just then, putting a temporary halt to their conversation. Since it was already nearly noon, the morning rush was pretty much over so Jackson didn’t have to navigate through a lot of traffic. He pulled the SUV up right outside the entry doors to Scarlett’s airline, then motioned her to stay put until he dealt with her luggage.
He chuckled as she struggled to exit the car while keeping that enormous pony clasped tightly against her side.
“Christ, what a sight you’re going to make sitting in first class with that thing,” he laughed. “Maybe I should have bought a second seat just for him.”
“Her,” she corrected. “My pony is a her, and her name is Penny. Deal with it. And you’ve already told me the flight attendant will help me store her away for the flight. God, is it like twenty degrees hotter here than it was at the resort? I swear I don’t know how you live in this weather.”
Jackson arched a brow. “Uh, wasn’t it at least this hot living in Las Vegas all those years?”