“Call myself worse,” she whispered.
He reached forward, cupped her face between his hands. “And that’s gonna stop. Whatever words you call yourself, whatever you hear him say to you, none of it is true. And I’m gonna replace every bad thought with a good one. Got it?”
She nodded.
“You ever talk to someone about what happened?”
“Not really. Brad knows it all. Sylvie just parts of it. She was too young. As she got older, well, I didn’t want her to know.”
“You’ve never talked to a professional about any of this?”
“No.”
“Kent gave me the name of a therapist. She knows the lifestyle. She’ll do sessions online. She’s good.”
She stiffened. Talk to a stranger? “I can’t.”
He studied her for a long moment. “Whether you do this or don’t do this, it’s up to you. No matter what I’m still going to be here for you. I’ll be supporting you with whatever you need. I just want you to be happy.”
“You’re not gonna make me go?”
“Babe, ain’t no point to it if I make you go. You have to want to do this.”
“I want to do this. Or, I mean, I want to fix this. Fix me. But I’m scared to talk to a stranger.”
He gave a fierce look. “First of all, you aren’t broken. Hear me? Your head got messed with by an asshole who I have the misfortune to be related to. The things he said to you are unforgivable and I hate that his words still have the power to hurt you. But you ain’t broken. You just need some help to put that voice to rest. If you don’t think this woman can do that for you or you’re not ready, then I’m not going to force you.”
“I thought you might be mad.”
“Baby, never. I just want you to be free of those demons, of this power he has over you. I definitely don’t want you hurting yourself anymore because that’s the only way you know how to free yourself of him.”
She’d stared up at him, this wonderful man who was vowing to do whatever it took to help her and she knew she had to be brave. She had to be as strong as he seemed to think she was. She had to do whatever it took to free herself.
“I’m going to do it.”
Light filled his eyes. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. What about you? Will you talk to her?”
“I will do whatever needs doing to help you.”
“But to help you.”
He dropped his hands then widened his legs. “Come sit here.” He patted the floor between his legs. She turned and backed her way in. He wrapped an arm firmly around her chest, surrounding her with him.
“Not real big on talking to a chick about this.”
“A chick!” she protested.
“Yeah, a chick.” She heard the smile in his voice. Knew he was teasing her. “But if I need to talk, I got Bain.”
“Bain?”
“Yeah, Bain.”
“Does he know how to talk? Without growling?”
He let out a surprised laugh. She smiled, relaxed against him. “Not really. But he knows how to listen.”