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Dean made a mental note to talk to Violet about it, but at this point, Casey was his primary concern. “I can teach you how to defend yourself.”
“What, like self-defense? Isn’t that for girls?”
“No, everyone should know self-defense. It gives you the maximum amount of power with the least amount of force. It would actually be good for all of you to learn, but for now, I’ll start with you.”
“Thanks,” Casey said.
“I do have a question, though.” Casey stiffened next to him, but Dean pressed on. “Do you really blame your sister?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Casey said, “Kind of.”
“Because she forced you to take art classes?”
Casey went on the defensive. “She didn’t force me to do anything.”
“But she told you that you had to go?”
“No, I wanted to take art classes, but we couldn’t afford private lessons, so she found some cheap classes at the youth center.”
Dean let him mull over that for a bit. “You can put the blame wherever you want, but if you ever want to find peace, then you need to face what happened head-on.”
“I’m not ready to talk about it. I don’t want to go to the cops or tell that shrink about it.”
Dean laid his hand on Casey’s shoulder and gave it a gentle pat. “You don’t have to talk to Mrs. Stabler if you don’t want to, but I’m sure your sister would listen. When you are ready.”
Climbing to his feet, Dean held out his hand for Casey. “And if you think that you’re getting away with smarting off, you’re dreaming.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re in charge of cleaning the bathroom for your unit until you’re discharged next week.” Casey opened his mouth, and Dean raised an eyebrow. “You want to object?”
For whatever reason, Casey snapped his mouth closed and shook his head. “No, sir.”
“All right then, go on inside.” Casey hesitated, and Dean waited for him to speak. “Something else?”
“Yeah, um . . . A couple of the guys said they went to my house this weekend to clean up the yard and paint. Is that true?”
Dean had expected Casey to be pissed about not being able to go, but he seemed more curious.
“Yeah, I noticed that it needed some work when I was over there talking to your sister about you, so I figured we’d count it toward some of the guy’s community service.”
“Thanks,” Casey said.
“Don’t mention it.”
Casey hopped from one foot to the next. “And, just so you know, if my sister wants to date you, then it’s okay with me.”
“I appreciate your blessing,” Dean said.
“Won’t mean much if you don’t do it right.”
“Do what?”
“Violet doesn?
??t get involved with guys. And the few I’ve found out about didn’t last very long.”
Dean folded his arms over his chest, amused. “Are you giving me dating advice?”
