How Cassie Got Her Grind Back(Divine Creek Ranch 23)(120)
“I’m still the head of this family, which you are a part of. I forbid you to have anything to do with the Cutter family.”
“Or what? You’ll punish me by forcing me to scrub your dumpster?”
He grew quiet as he stared at her, the labyrinth behind his obsidian-like gaze revealing he was already imprisoned in a mind that had lost its grasp on which events had occurred decades in the past or just days ago. “You are just as big a disappointment as your mother is to me. You don’t have a coffee shop anymore, so now you have no choice but to stay home and be a good wife to your husband, and a good mother to your children.”
“My children are grown adults, and I’m single, Dad. Did you know your grandson Joseph was in the shop with me when you set that fire? Besides all the people you hurt in the accident you caused, you could’ve killed me as well as your own grandson that night.” She held up her forearms, which were wrapped in a light gauze bandage as proof.
“Joseph? No, the shop is closed on Sundays. No one was there.” He shook his head as if he could stop facts from being facts just because that was the way he wanted it. “You’re lying! I made sure the shop was closed before—” He yanked at his wrists in the cuffs while casting around a sharp gaze as if he was looking for spies. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re trying to get me to confess to a crime I didn’t commit.”
“I saw you on the security cameras, and so has law enforcement. The accident you caused is also on video record. I think we’re done.”
She stood to leave, taking a long look at the man who had charted her course with an iron hand all those years ago, always so full of anger and driven by his need to control. Why did it always come down to that with the men in her life?
She knew whatever Bill had told her father about Mason and her mother was a lie, intended to ingratiate himself and fuel hatred for the Cutter family. Samson claimed to enjoy control, but his father had been a loving man, adoring his wife.
The realization was slow to dawn, but when it came, it enabled her to walk away without guilt. Her father wasn’t ruled by the need to control. He was ruled by anger and hatred. Samson wanted control, but he was ruled by a caring and loving heart.
“I want to go home! ¡Ahora!”
She turned back to look at him and shook her head. “I’m sorry for your problems, but you’ve ruined the only home you had left.”
She nodded to Hank when she walked out of the hospital room. “What will happen to him?”
Compassion filled his eyes. “We’ll wait to see what the judge says, but I’d rule out release. He’s a danger to himself and society. The evidence backs up arson. Add in driving without a license, theft of a vehicle, and reckless driving—it’s not promising. We’ll see what the judge says.”
Unsurprised, Cassie nodded. “He was so humiliated and angry over Mom’s arrest all those years ago, and now he’s brought even worse trouble on his own head.”
Several of his family members had already agreed to give statements attesting to his behavior and his ranting about the coffee shop, insisting that if she didn’t have it she would do “her duty” as a good wife and mother.
Even though she knew none of his accusations were true, she felt beat to a pulp by his hateful diatribe, his words still echoing in her weary head.
She pulled up in front of the house, relieved that Samson and Ivan’s vehicles were already there. There was no doubt in her mind that she could take care of herself, and even chart a course to rebuild her business, thanks to her insurance policy, but it was comforting to know they were there for her, and willing to step in and help however she needed them to.
“Thank you for bringing them back into my life,” she whispered out loud. “Thank you for protecting me and sending friends to save us.”
If Dad had been in his right mind, would he have cared that I was in the coffee shop with Joseph? She would probably never know. Tears of frustration and exhaustion flowed from her eyes and she didn’t even try to wipe them away.
She jerked wide awake with a cry and her hands balled into fists when Samson eased open her car door. She panted as the disorientation settled and noticed the concern in his eyes as he reached in for her. “I’ve got you, chiquita. Relax.”
His tone of voice and his hold were gentle as he carried her up the walkway to the house, after closing and locking her car. She couldn’t find the energy to question his need to carry her, and the truth was that she felt safer with him and his brother than just about anywhere else on Earth right then.