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“No. After the way he treated me, she didn’t think Blake deserved to know.”
Jackson grimaced. “Yeah. Can’t say I’m impressed by what he did.”
“I have his daughter in my class.”
He nodded. “Blake mentioned that.”
“She seems to be a sad little girl.”
“She is.” Jackson hesitated, then said, “She lost her mom not too long ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It must be a difficult thing for her to deal with.”
Charli wanted to ask for more details, but for once, Jackson didn’t seem inclined to chat about it. It was probably just as well. Charli didn’t want to feel sorry for Blake, and learning how he’d lost his wife or girlfriend would probably make her feel that way.
Unfortunately, Jackson’s revelation about Amelia’s mother had made it clear that Charli was going to have to respond to Blake. She’d known that she’d have to as Amelia’s teacher, but now she felt obligated on an emotional level. Amelia would need more than just educational instruction.
“Well, I’d better go,” Jackson said as he got to his feet.
“You’re not going to say anything to anyone, right?”
Jackson stared at her for a long moment before he shook his head. “I’ll keep your secret, even though I do think that Blake would like to know he has another daughter.”
“He already has a daughter,” Charli said. “He doesn’t need mine.”
“But Layla might benefit from having him in her life.”
“She doesn’t need another male role model. She’s got plenty of good ones already.”
“She does,” Jackson agreed. “It’s not my decision, of course, so I’ll leave it up to you.”
As Jackson headed out of the kitchen, Charli said, “How did you figure it out?”
He turned back around. “He asked about you.”
Charli froze at his words. “He did?”
“Yep. So I asked him why he was interested in you and he mentioned that you’d gotten… close the last time he was here. I may not be a math whiz like Will, but even I get four when I add two and two.”
“I appreciate you not spilling that answer to him.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” Jackson said. “You’re like a sister to me, and honestly, I know you better than I know him at this point. So I’d always side with you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“By the way, he also wanted to know if you were married.”
Charli wasn’t sure how hearing that made her feel. “What did you tell him?”
“That you weren’t currently in a relationship.”
“I haven’t been in a serious relationship ever, never mind currently.”
“True,” Jackson said with a shrug. “But he doesn’t need to know that. Although I did hint at you rebound dating someone during the time after he left. That might be enough to make him think Layla was the result of that.”
“Thank you for not telling him about Layla.” Charli would never have thought she’d be appreciative of Jackson, but she was glad that underneath his flippant personality, he’d had the sense not to blurt out her secret.
“You’re welcome. See you around,” Jackson said, then with a wave of his hand, he left the kitchen and let himself out the front door.
