“I beat the fuck out of him. I discovered that he hadn’t knocked Mom around my last few years of high school because I’d gotten bigger than him, and he was a pussy. He knew he couldn’t take me anymore.”

Ty laughs humorlessly and fiddles with an unused plastic knife. “He came at me, drunk and pissed, yelling and throwing things and managed to land a few punches, and then I saw red. I beat him unconscious.”

“Did your mom file charges against him?” I’m sitting on the edge of my seat. How did I never hear about this?

“No, she filed them against me at the time because she was too afraid of what Dad would do to her if she put him in jail.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” I gape at him, sure that I’ve just heard him wrong.

“Nope. Put me in jail. Of course, I got off. It was purely self-defense. But the public defender said something to me that changed my life.”

“What did he say?”

“She said, ‘Take a long, hard look at your life. You can either become your father, or you can do better. It’s up to you.’ ” Ty’s gaze finds mine. “I chose to be better.”

“And your mom?”

He shakes his head and sighs. “She was with him until the day he died five years ago. There was nothing anyone could do to make her see that she could leave him. But I took Jill out of there. She lived with Cara and her family until she graduated from high school.”

I just sit and watch him, so unbelievably proud.

“You’re not saying anything. Rethinking this whole being-with-a-guy-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks thing?”

“Don’t piss me off when I’m sitting here thinking how proud of you I am.”

He smiles halfheartedly, and I come around the desk to sit in his lap again. Cupping his face in my hands, I kiss him softly and deeply. “I think you’re pretty cool.”

He chuckles and pulls his knuckles down my cheek. “I’m nothing special, Lo.” His eyes turn sad as he watches me. “I couldn’t even save my mom from the bastard who beat her.”

“That wasn’t your job,” I insist. “Ty, I know I was lucky to have parents who loved each other and were respectful of each other, but I was married to a man who loved nothing more than making me miserable.” I shake my head and try to come up with the words to help him understand. “He didn’t hit me, not until the very end. But taking verbal jabs at me, beating down my self-esteem, made him very happy. And I knew that what he was doing was abusive, and I didn’t leave.”

“You didn’t—” he begins with a shake of his head, but I interrupt.

“I did have my parents and friends that I could have turned to, but I didn’t leave, Ty. You need to understand, when a woman is being abused, no one can save her but herself. She has to be the one to decide that she won’t live that way anymore. It was shitty of your mom to choose to stay with your dad rather than take you and Jill out of there. But it was her choice.”

He exhales deeply and closes his eyes, then leans his forehead against mine. “Thank you for that,” he whispers.

“I can’t bear the thought of you blaming yourself for something that isn’t your fault.”

“I always felt like protecting Mom and Jilly was my job. I know my dad was a pitiful excuse for a man, but Jill and I spent more time at Zack and Josh’s house than we did at home. Jeff King showed me what it was to be a real man, and he never would have stood for anyone treating his wife like that.”

“I’m glad you had a place to go.”

“I remember one time, Zack told his mom to shut up, and Jeff had Z up against the wall by his collar so fast, he didn’t see what was coming.”

“Good for him.” I grin.

“Yeah, he never made that mistake again.” Ty sighs again. “That’s why it was so hard for me to watch my dad with Mom. I’d tell her over and over again to leave the bastard, and she would just shake her head and walk on eggshells around the bastard.”

“It’s not your fault.” I hold his face in my palms, making him look at me. “You got Jill away from there and you did the best you could.”

“It’s always been in my mind, you know? What if I’m more like him than I think I am?”

“You are nothing like that, Ty.”

“I take care of the women in my life, and I know I’m sometimes overprotective, but I just need to know that they’re safe. And now that I have you, that includes you. No one will ever touch you in anger again, Lauren. Never.” His arms tighten around me, pulling me into the safety of his embrace, and I know that no matter what kind of shit Jack throws my way, I can stand up to him. Ty will be right there by my side.

And for the first time since my parents died, I feel . . . safe.

I bury my face in his neck and pull in a deep breath. God, he smells so good.

Finally, I check the time and sigh in resignation. “My hour is up.” I clean up our mess and walk to the door.

Ty is right behind me. “Wait.” He stops me before I open his door and instead of kissing me like I expect, he drops a soft kiss on my forehead. “Thank you, sweetness.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’ll see you tonight.”

“Have a good day, dear.” I wave and wink, then saunter out of his office to the sound of his laughter.

“I’m way behind deadline,” I moan into the phone. “I have to have this draft to the editor by next week.”