WRITTEN IN THE SAND Copyright © 2020 by J Marie This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from the author. Editing: Wasted Life Books Formatting: Champagne Book Design Book Cover Design: BookCoverKingdom Title Page Copyright Novels by J Marie Dedication Written in the Sand Playlist Epigraph Written in the Sand Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Epilogue Extra Epilogue Other Titles by J Marie Note from Me and My Thanks to You About the Author Sweet and Sexy Standalones Second Chance Rescue TTKL (Coming Soon) Moonshine Springs Novels Written in the Sand Dedicated to: Allison Dublin For believing in this book even when I didn’t. For continually believing in me even when I want to throw every word in the trash. Your friendship is incomparable. Homecoming queen by Kelsea Ballerini I Hope by Gabby Barrett End of the World by Kelsea Ballerini Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not by Thompson Square Written in the Sand by Old Dominion I Won’t Give Up by Jason Mraz You Shouldn’t Kiss Me Like This by Toby Keith Run (feat. Sugarland) by Matt Nathanson Loved by a Country Boy by Trea Landon Dance with Me (feat. Kelsea Ballerini) by Morgan Evans Take It From Me by Jordan Davis All To Myself by Dan + Shay Slow Hands by Niall Horan Die A Happy Man by Thomas Rhett Every Little Thing by Russell Dickerson Knockin’ Boots by Luke Bryan “New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” – Lao Tzu Written in the Sand I always believed my happily ever after came with the words “I do.” I’d been happy once. In love. Until one night changed everything. Changed us. The love of my life, or so I thought, had become my own worst nightmare. So here I am… Back in Moonshine Springs. A place I wouldn’t return to unless absolutely necessary. But that’s not the biggest shock. Waiting for me with open arms and a safe place to stay is my high school best friend’s brother, Beau. He’s told me I’m his, but starting over isn’t as easy as creating a new happily ever after. My past isn’t done with me and soon enough, bleeds into my present. My name is Cassidy Mae and this is my chance to begin again… One week ago He’d come home from work early. The smell of her perfume permeated the air. I knew it wasn’t mine. I didn’t wear anything that smelled that expensive and sickly sweet. It was something a teenager would wear, or better yet a woman hiding from age, and clinging to youth. However, it was his upbeat attitude that tipped me off. The one he gets when he’s just gotten laid. “Who is she?” I’d demanded. I’m not sure why I was so angry. I should have been relieved that I wouldn’t be forced into my wifely duties anytime soon. I dreaded them. Last time he said he wanted to spice things up… I had bruises on my wrists for over a week from where the zip ties bit into my flesh. That earned me flowers, a new dress, and nights to myself for a week since he didn’t want to look at the ugly marks. I had pleased him greatly and he looked forward to further exploring this side of our relationship. I feared it. “What?” He’d said, a look of shock crossing his face. I raised my hands to my hips in an accusatory stance. “The whore you’ve been sleeping with this time?” “She’s not a whore. She’s better than you will ever be.” He retorted. “I want a divorce, Andrew. I’m done with your shit. I’m done getting tested every month because you can’t keep your dick in your pants.” The smack that followed was something I never expected. I had never smarted off like that before. No matter, I didn’t deserve that smack. I never expected or deserved the brutal beating that followed that first strike on my skin. It was the first time that Andrew had ever truly laid a hand to me. He’d been verbally abusive for months, but this time it was different. He was enraged. I doubted he could even see through the red haze before his eyes. As the blows rained down, he reminded me over and over that no matter how he dressed me up, the etiquette lessons he’d paid for, or the degree he was shocked I’d earned I’d never be good enough for him. That it’d be over his dead body if I ever left him. No piece of backwoods trash would tarnish his name and reputation. He would not be known as a man who couldn’t control an ignorant, weak woman such as myself. I’d learn my place and be what he needed. He’d lock the pantry, run me in the streets, and fuck me into submission if he had to. I should have been grateful for his love and how well he took care of me. His insults continued. He mocked my heavily accented cries, which only got thicker with pain. He said I was pretty enough to provide him with legitimate offspring and that he’d start breeding me soon enough since it was now the right time. Oh god! But I wasn’t allowed to get fat. I never thought of a child as a weapon against me. A blow came to my chest. Air whooshed out of me as he’d pushed me to the ground. Alcohol had laced his breath and I gagged. I truly believed he was possessed because how else could a man be this cruel. I would have believed it would be my last night on
