“I’m talking about a situation that could develop if he’s smart enough not to lift his hand to her. What if, after he serves his time, he moves back here, stays clean. How are you going to handle that?”
“One step at a time, Jared, like always. Of course, the first thing I’d have to do is keep Rafe from going after him because of what he tried to do to Regan.”
T
hat was true enough, Jared thought. And Rafe wouldn’t be the only one who wouldn’t welcome Joe Dolin back into the community. “Dev, I know what Cassie’s been through. Exactly. I know because I’m her lawyer, I handled the divorce. We’re talking about a textbook case of spousal abuse. A pitiful phrase, textbook case, for that kind of horror. Therapy’s helped her, the town’s helped her, and her own backbone’s helped her. But she’s got scars she’s never going to get rid of.”
“I’m being careful,” Devin said slowly. “For God’s sake, Jared, I’ve given her time—even after the divorce, I waited and gave her time. I’m trying to give her more.”
“Devin, I’m just trying to show you the whole package. Believe me, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather see you with than Cassie. Anyone I’d rather see her with than you. God knows she deserves somebody decent. But it’s not just the two of you. There are two kids here. Joe Dolin’s kids.”
Devin’s eyes darkened, narrowed. “You can say that to me, when you’ve got Bryan? Are you going to tell me it matters they’re another man’s blood, when I know damn well Bryan’s as much yours as Layla?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Jared’s voice was low and calm. “I’ve seen you with them. I didn’t have a clue how you felt about Cassie. You kept that covered well. But anybody with eyes can see you’re crazy about those kids, that you’ve been good for both of them. They deserve you,” he added, and nipped Devin’s temper before it could bloom. “They deserve a father who loves them, and a home where they can just be kids.”
“Fine. That’s what I’m going to see they have.”
“But it’s not like Bryan, Dev. His biological father isn’t around, isn’t an issue. Dolin is.”
“He doesn’t give a damn about those kids, never has.”
“No, but he’ll have a right to them.” Knowing that the frustration he felt didn’t help, Jared spread his hands and took a deep breath. “The law says he does. And if he can’t get to Cassie, he may just come up with the notion to get to her through them. Once he’s out, he’ll have a legal right to see them, to have visitation, to be part of their lives. You won’t be able to block that.”
Devin hadn’t thought of it. Maybe he hadn’t let himself. Now that it was there, right in the front of his mind, his blood went cold. “You’re the lawyer. You block it.”
“Parental rights are a sticky business, Dev. You know that. Until and unless he does something to put them in jeopardy, until and unless we can prove he’s not just unfit, but dangerous to them, he’ll have the law on his side.”
Already Jared was thinking it through, working it out. “We may be able to put the pressure on for supervised visitations only, but blood still counts heavy in court.”
“He beat Connor.”
Jared’s brows drew together. “I didn’t know anything about that.”
“Connor didn’t tell Cassie, didn’t want to make it worse on her.”
“I might be able to use that, if the time comes. But once he’s considered rehabilitated, a lot of the slate gets erased. He’s going to be in for a long time yet, but I want you to know what you’re up against here.”
“I’ve got a clear picture of what I’m up against. Nothing’s going to stop me from making Cassie and the kids mine. Not Joe Dolin, not the law, not anything.”
“Well, then.” Jared rose. “I’ll state the obvious. I’m behind you. Rafe and Shane are behind you.”
“I appreciate it.”
“If you get yourself out from behind that desk for an hour, come down to Duff’s. I’ll buy you a beer.” Satisfied, Jared headed for the door, then paused. “She’s a terrific woman, Dev. Sweet, like Shane says, but tougher than you might think. Tougher than she thinks. If you convince her she wants you as much as you want her, you’ll handle whatever comes down. I’ve got one piece of advice.”
“You always do,” Devin said dryly.
“For Cassie, it’s not enough to let her know you love her, you want her. You let her know you need her. That’s a woman who’d go to the wall for a man who needed her.”
He did need her, Devin thought when Jared had shut the door behind him. But he didn’t know how to show her, and wasn’t entirely sure he should. Wasn’t that just the kind of pressure he was struggling not to put on her?
He didn’t want Cassie to go to the wall for him. He only wanted her to feel safe and happy. No, it was up to him to see that she was never hurt again, to protect her, to shield her and the children.
His need could wait.
Chapter 10
Cassie told herself it was foolish to worry. Devin was fine. Rafe had told her the story himself, and she knew that his version of the attempted bank robbery was much more accurate than those she’d heard over the phone. Even Connor’s report, given in fits and starts of desperate excitement, had been less dramatic than the gossip spewing out of the town.