“I should have known that someone so young who could so something so beautiful had a well of beauty within her that would eventually be drawn out for all to see. Not me, however,” he said, still looking at the work of art.
He turned back to me. “I can be so blind sometimes,” he continued. “I was guilty of the same thing when it came to Kiera. One day, she was my little girl, content with her dolls and computer games, and the next day, it seemed, she was asking to go on dates.”
“Maybe fathers don’t want to see it.”
“Pardon?”
“They don’t want their daughters to grow up,” I suggested softly.
“Why not?” he asked with a smile.
“They don’t want them to lose their innocence, to stop being the sole object of their affection. I also imagine when parents see that their children are older, they feel older,” I added.
“Very astute. You are a very intelligent young lady,” he said. “That’s another thing I haven’t appreciated enough. Jordan is right. We’re lucky to have you here, and I hope you feel lucky to be here as well.”
I had no answer for that. The only reason I was here was that their daughter had accidentally killed my mother and Jordan had felt responsible. Ryder was very perceptive when he said I felt guilty admitting that I was in any way happy here. It just seemed sinful even to think I was lucky. My silence seemed to make Mr. March nervous.
“In any case,” he continued, now pacing a little, “I am determined not to be oblivious anymore and to take a more direct and firm interest in your welfare and future. I guess we both know very well that I missed the boat when it came to Kiera. The things that happened as a result are just as much my fault as hers. I won’t let that happen with you.”
He stopped in front of me.
“Up to now, I’ve let Jordan take the lead when it comes to you, your needs, and your wishes. I’ll admit I wasn’t completely for getting you your own car. I know too well how that can be a terrible detriment, a dangerous distraction for someone as young as you are. But she thought it would help to make you feel more a part of this family and give you the independence you needed. I wasn’t going to argue about it, and,” he said before I could say a word, “I’m confident now that you have the maturity and responsibility for it. At least, I hope and pray you do.”
“I didn’t ask for a car,” I said softly. “It was a big surprise.”
“No, you haven’t asked for much. Another girl in your position would surely have asked for much, much more. I like the fact that you appreciate things when they’re given to you. Again,” he said, pulling in the corners of his mouth, “we both know someone who was never that way, unfortunately.
“We’re not here to talk about her, however,” he said quickly. I was glad to hear that and relaxed a bit. He wasn’t trying to use me as a family spy. “We’re here only to talk about you.
“First, I want to promise you that I will devote more time to you, be here more for you. I hope that before long, you will feel comfortable coming to me with any problems you might have, any decisions you have to make.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I will.”
“So,” he said, surprising me by sitting beside me on the settee, “I’d like to begin by giving you a little advice about this boy you brought here today. Jordan was a little concerned about him, too. That’s why it was so important for her that I be home early enough to meet him.
“Too often, when Kiera brought a boy home, I wasn’t around, and Jordan was never as forceful as she should have been when it came to Kiera’s sexual explorations. I realize that girls are doing that at alarmingly younger and younger ages.”
He kept his smile and then reached out to touch my hair, stroking it ever so gently with the tips of his fingers.
“Like Kiera, you are a very beautiful young woman, Sasha, perhaps even more beautiful. You’ve inherited some exquisite features from your mother, I’m sure, even though I’ve never seen a picture of her. Your father couldn’t have been too bad-looking to have attracted your mother in the first place, and second because of some of your other stunning qualities. I’m an expert when it comes to judging all this. It’s part of what I do for a living, so there’s no point in your trying to be modest and deny it,” he followed quickly.
“I’m not,” I said, which took him aback a little. “I know my mother was very beautiful, and my father was a handsome man.”
He laughed. “It doesn’t always follow that the children of good-looking people will be as good-looking. I’m sure, for example, that Ryder Garfield, as good-looking as you might think he is, doesn’t have the special qualities that have made his father a cinematic idol or his mother a world-famous model.”
“I’m not the only one at Pacifica who thinks he does,” I said.
The gentleness in his eyes seemed to go poof and disappear, like a coin in a magician’s hand.
“Yes, well, as your guardian with a parent’s responsibility, I want to tell you that we should not permit ourselves to be attracted to someone solely on the basis of his or her looks. I’d like to think that anyone you admire and who admires you has more significant qualities. Most important, perhaps, is the fact that Jordan is right when she says you are still somewhat fragile. We’re proud of your accomplishments, but we know how easily you could be . . . damaged. Now, Ryder certainly comes from a respectable family, famous parents, money and all that goes with it, but anyone would have to be blind or stupid not to see that there are turbulent waters running under the surface of his handsome face. I don’t want you to be drawn down into them, not now, not ever,” he said.
“That won’t happen,” I said as confidently as I could manage, even though in my heart of hearts, I wasn’t absolutely sure of that.
He smiled again. “Ah, but that’s where I come in,” he said. “All young people, me included when I was young, feel they’re immortal, infallible, or if they do suffer setbacks, that they have so much time ahead of them that the setbacks are insignificant. Take Kiera, for example. I didn’t realize what was happening, but by the time I did, she was too wild to be reined in. You have to consider the advice of older, wiser people, especially older, wiser people who care about you very much.”
“I’m not Kiera,” I said, perhaps a bit too sharply.
He winced. “Well, as much as it pains me to say it, I hope you’re right, but I have, even in my obliviousness, seen some similar