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Jamal willed his anger not to show on his face. How anyone could hit the beautiful woman standing in front of him, much less the younger kid version of her he could picture in his mind, caused a rage like nothing he had ever felt except the time JJ’s mother left them high and dry. “No one believed you?”
Cassie smiled sadly. “My mom did. But only because he did the same thing to her. At least we were in it together.”
“Then where is she?” he asked.
“With the big Man upstairs,” she said, pointing to the ceiling. “Shefelldownour stairs,” Cassie added, creating quotation marks with her fingers when she said the words fell down. “That, along with all the other bruises and injuries, was a classic, textbook case of abuse. People just didn’t care to see what was right in front of their face. Not about their beloved sheriff.”
Jamal was amazed and appalled at her story. He knew things like that happened all the time, he just couldn’t ever associate a real person with that particular horror. Now that it was his Bambi, well, it really hit home.
“She died when I was eleven. I just tried to hide as much as I could growing up from then on. If I wasn’t around when he was drunk, he couldn’t hit me. It got way worse after mom died, though. One time, he told me her dying was my fault. If I hadn’t made a mess in the hallway with my stuff, he wouldn’t have made me get down on my hands and knees, beg for forgiveness and pick it all up. When he kicked me in the ribs and called me a worthless piece of shit, mom got in front of him to block the next one. That’s when he pushed her down the stairs.”
Jamal wrapped her in a fierce bear hug and rested his chin on the top of her head. “Oh, Bambi. Tell me you didn’t believe it.”
“At first I did,” she said with no emotion. “But then, when I got older and realized that it wasn’t the norm in everyone else’s household for parents to beat their kid, then I wised up.”
“How’d you wind up in Oklahoma?”
“Easy. I ran,” she replied. “Apparently my mom had inherited some big piece of land in a remote part of Alaska from her dad. They struck oil on it and an oil company paid her family big bucks to sell the land to them. Big bucks to the tune of one million dollars.”
Jamal whistled. “That’s a wad of cash, Cass.”
“Yes, it is,” she agreed. “That’s why my dad knew nothing about it. And that’s why she willed all of it to me.”
“Wow,” he said breathlessly. “That’s some story.”
“I know. When I turned eighteen and her lawyer told me about it, I cashed the check and ran. I’ve never looked back since. It’s funny really. My dad had this big, fancy, spinning globe on his desk in his office. One day, when he wasn’t home, I closed my eyes, spun it and pointed my finger to a place once it stopped. It stopped on Oklahoma,” she said with a shrug. “That’s the day I became an Oklahoman. I researched colleges to attend and saw where OU had a really good law school.”
“Law? But you’re going to be a teacher,” he replied questioningly.
“Yep. I changed my major when I observed a child having to testify on the stand. I knew I couldn’t make any child relive their trauma. But I still wanted to help. That’s why I went with teaching.”
Jamal nodded his head, feeling his chin rub against her head. “Makes perfect sense. You’ll be able to help so many kids.”
“I hope so,” she agreed, squeezing him tighter.
“Does your dad know where you are?”
“Lord, no. if he did, I would be in big trouble. I don’t even want to think about it, but it’s already there, in the back of my mind. He’s law enforcement and what he says goes. I know right now, he’s probably looking for me. He’ll never give up the search.”
Jamal pulled Cassie away from his chest and looked her in the eye. “He may look, but as long as I’m in your lifenothingis going to happen to you. Got it?”
“That’s what Callie and Aria always say.”
“Then listen to us,” he said, pulling her in for another hug before she could see his face. He didn’t want her to think he pitied her. He also didn’t want her to see how angry her story made him. If I ever met Cassie’s dad, to hell with a lawsuit. He didn’t think he would be able to hold back a throat punch. Or a kick in the balls. Or his ribs. Or his head. Pretty much from head to toe, actually. Maybe give him a fall down the stairs of his own.
“I’m fine. Really.” Her voice was muffled in his shirt. “It’s in the past.”
“Doesn’t mean the hurt went away,” he told her.
“No, it doesn’t. Not really,” she said sadly. “So do you still want to talk to me?”
“Why wouldn’t I want to talk to you, Bambi? You can’t help your past any more than I can help mine.”
“Because of all the baggage I bring to the table. What if word got out to the media that you’re dating a woman who stole one million dollars?”
“You didn’tstealanything, Bambi. Your mom left you that money. It’s yours.”
“That’s not what my dad will think if he ever finds out.”
