Prince Charming Wears a Badge Read Free Page A

you upset when she died?”
    â€œOf course I was upset,” she said evenly. “Who wouldn’t be? I was young and had no mother.” Callie’s pulse sped up, so she took control of her breathing. In and out. In and out. “But I couldn’t do anything about it and it wasn’t her fault that she was killed.”
    â€œAre you still angry?”
    Callie’s brow furrowed. Her mother had been gone twenty-six years. She missed her or, more specifically, she missed having a mother figure. She didn’t know what it was like to have a mother to turn to in tough times. Like when she’d caught Andrew cheating.
    She spoke calmly. “Car jacking is a horrific act of violence, but I don’t dwell on it.”
    â€œAre you close to your father?” Dr. Hammond shifted in his seat and crossed one leg over the other.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWhen was the last time you two spoke?”
    Callie did the math in her head. “About eleven years ago.”
    Dr. Hammond’s eyebrows rose. “That’s a long time.” When Callie didn’t comment further, he asked, “What was the circumstance that led to your loss of communication?”
    Callie nearly smiled at Dr. Hammond’s formal turn of phrase rather than simply asking why she’d shut her father out of her life. “I left for college.”
    â€œI see.”
    No, he probably didn’t, but Callie couldn’t disclose her personal demons to this stranger, no matter how soothingly he spoke.
    â€œDid you and your father have an altercation?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWould you like to rekindle a relationship with him?”
    She hadn’t even considered it. “That’s not an option.”
    Dr. Hammond cocked his head and asked, “Did he molest you?”
    Callie’s eyes widened and she straightened in her chair. “No, of course not. He’d never do that.” Her father was the sweetest man she’d ever known. Maybe too sweet, blinding him to the deceit surrounding him.
    Dr. Hammond watched Callie through narrowed eyes and finally nodded as he made notes in his file. “Let’s move on to your stepmother,” Dr. Hammond suggested.
    Let’s not. “What about her?” Breathe deeply. In and out.
    â€œHow old were you when she came into your life?”
    Callie’s stomach churned. “She was my mother’s friend, her maid of honor when my parents married.”
    Dr. Hammond made another note. “How would you characterize your relationship?”
    Callie couldn’t do this. She couldn’t discuss her stepmother. “She’s my father’s wife.” She took a halting breath. “Can’t we talk about something else?”
    Dr. Hammond was silent for several minutes. “Callie, I’m at a loss here. The court sent you to me, but I can’t help you if you insist on burying your emotions. You need to open up.”
    Callie didn’t know what to say. She’d spent most of her life keeping her thoughts and emotions to herself. Any anger burning her insides remained unspoken. That’s what kept her out of trouble.
    Until recently.
    Most people would have screamed and yelled at Andrew and the woman on top of him, but Callie didn’t operate like that. She’d learned early on to curb her temper, no matter how unfair the circumstances. After that, only once had she ever lost complete control of her temper. It was a slipup as a teenager and she was lucky it hadn’t ruined the rest of her life.
    â€œI don’t know what you want me to say. Nothing in my past has anything to do with me finding my boyfriend in bed with another woman.” She fisted and relaxed her hands several times. “It didn’t make me lose my temper and break an expensive vase. Though I almost wish I had so at least I’d be paying for something I actually did.”
    The more she’d thought about it since court, the more